


OVERCAST (updates every tue and fri)

by DollyStuart



Category: Twilight (Movies), Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Action & Romance, Alternate Universe - Twilight Fusion, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Angst and Romance, Awkward Romance, College, Cultural Differences, Dark, Dark Fantasy, Drama & Romance, Edinburgh, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Fanfiction, Fantasy, Forbidden Love, Friendship/Love, Gen, Human/Vampire Relationship, Idiots in Love, Inspired by the Twilight Series, Love, Love Confessions, Love at First Sight, Love/Hate, Multi, My First Fanfic, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Original Mythology, Original Universe, Romance, Romantic Angst, Romantic Comedy, Romantic Gestures, Romanticism, School, Scotland, Scottish Character, Sexual Fantasy, Slow Romance, Twilight References, Twilight Spitefic, University, Unrequited Love, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Vampires, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:47:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 27,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26911627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DollyStuart/pseuds/DollyStuart
Summary: Inspired by Twilight but less problematic. Xenia, a 23-year-old girl, leaves her homeland Greece to go study at Edinburgh college. There she encounters a strange young man with whom she is forced to work together. From reluctance to fascination, their relationship grows. Until she starts noticing something's off about the copper-haired, fair-skinned boy.
Comments: 4





	1. Chapter 01

'Xenia? Xenia!'

'What?' I groaned.

'Are you up yet?' Dad's voice boomed through the door.

'I am now,' I scowled.

'I just thought...' Dad's voice sounded hesitant through the thick wood door. 'I just don't want you to be late for your first day, that's all,' He paused again. I sat up in bed and looked at the alarm clock. It was twelve past six. I groaned again.

'First class starts at 10, dad,' I yelled back at him.

'Oh,' he responded. Even though he was on the other side of the door, I knew the face he pulled.

'It's fine, dad,' I sighed and rubbed my eyes.

'Oh, okay,' he paused again. 'Well, I'm off to work. See you tonight sweety,'

'See, you later,' I responded. It took a few seconds before I heard his footsteps lead away from my door.

Twelve past six. Going back to sleep would be of no use.

I climbed out of bed and opened the curtains. Dark clouds covered the sky. I scoffed. What else had I expected? Ocean blue and some nice sunshine? No way. This was not home. This was Edinburgh. Capital of Scotland and one of the cloudiest cities on the planet. Great. I closed the curtains again. It was not as if it made any difference anyway.

I picked up the clothes I had laid out for myself yesterday and started dressing. I decided to take my time with breakfast since there was nothing much to do. My bag I had packed yesterday.

A few hours later, I was finally on my way to the bus. To kill some time, I had studied my timetable and the college's map once more, even though I already knew it by heart.

'Is this the bus to Edinburgh College?' I asked the bus driver nervously.

'Can't you read?' the man said grumpily. 'It says so on the side. Now, are you going to get in or what?'

I quickly jumped into the bus and felt my head turn red as everyone looked at me while I stumbled my way through. Finally, I found a place in the back to sit.

Idiot. Of course, I knew this was the right bus. I had checked it over and over again on my phone. But still, I had to ask. Fool.

I watched as the view out of my window changed from fields of grass and trees to houses and busy streets.

'The next stop is Edinburgh College,' a cool woman's voice echoed over the sound system of the bus. I got up from my seat, as did most of the people on the bus. So I hadn't been the only one. Why would I have been? Stupid to think I would be. The people scuffled around me to get past.

As I neared the building, I couldn't help but hear my mom's voice in my head. 'Oh darling, it's going to be lovely, it will be good for you, and great for your future.'

'But mom, I don't want to go to England, why can't I just keep working?' I had retorted. 'It's Scotland, my dear and a parttime job at a coffeehouse is hardly work. No, you need a real job, where you can earn real money so that you can buy a house. Isn't that what you want?'

'No that's what you want, mom,'

'Oh don't be silly, you want that too. You want a house and a family and a car and the usual stuff. But you can't afford that if you are to keep working at that godforsaken place. You deserve so much more. You can do so much more. But for that, you need a real education,'

'But why in freaking England?'

'Language Xenia! And for the last time, it's Scotland. Because the schools there are far better and far more reputable than the ones you have here. I promise you; it will be an adventure. And dad will be so happy to see you again; he has already started redecorating his guest room so you can stay there. He was so excited when I told him.'

And that had been that. There had been no room for discussion.

Even though I had studied the map of the school, I found it challenging to navigate all the vast corridors and hallways. It was nothing like high school. When I finally arrived at the class, it was already packed. People were talking with each other, laughing and trying to find the right spot so they could sit next to each other. Maybe not as unlike highschool as I thought. The front of the classroom was mostly filled but the back still had a few seats left. Suddenly my eye fell on an empty seat in the back at the far left side. As I started walking up to it, I quickly realised why it was empty. In the seat next to it sat a most peculiar boy whom I hadn't noticed at first since he had leaned back so far that he was mostly caught in the shadows. Tall, but sloughed as if not wanting to be seen, with copper coloured hair and incredibly pale skin. But it was not his figure or looks that made me falter my step. He stared at me. But not the normal hazy kind. No, this was with intent. His eyes were wide, and his brows furrowed. His jawline was clenched and for a second I could swear he would start screaming. I quickly looked around me to see if there was another empty spot. Nothing. Fuck.

Slowly I started walking again, doing my utter best not to look at the weird guy, and still scanning the seats for an empty spot. But before I knew it I stood next to seemingly only empty spot in the room.

I looked down still, trying to avoid his face. On the seat lay a coat and a bag. Probably his. There was no getting out of it. I looked up and started. Even though I was so close now, he still looked at me with that same crazy look in his eyes. I gathered all my courage and cleared my throat.

'Erm, could you, could you move your stuff please,' I tried as politely as possible. He didn't even blink.

'Dude,' I got annoyed now, what was with this guy? 'Can you move your stuff, please?' I repeated. Honestly, if he was going to be like this for the rest of the lecture, I would prefer to sit in the aisle. But something seemed to have lifted the spell because he suddenly started blinking rapidly and moved. With one swift movement, he replaced his stuff from the chair to his desk, turning his body and face in such a way that I was now looking at his back. I raised my eyebrows. Weird and rude apparently, but I mumbled him a thank you none the less.

'Good morning class, my name is professor Anzani, and welcome to computer sciences one-o-one,' a man in the front of the class said. The room immediately went silent.

'Thank you for your attention. Now I will not be learning your names because I don't want to have to use them. After all, if I use your name, that means you are attracting attention. If you are attracting attention, you are not listening to what I have to say, which will be far more interesting than what you have to say. Understood? Good. Now, many people think that computer science is a very autonomous job, one you can do one your own, where you don't need to be corresponding with others. I'm sorry to say that this is incorrect. If the reason you took this class is that you hate working together with people and you think you won't have to in this field of work, you are going to have a bad time. So I'm going to weed out all of you individuals who think they are higher and mightier than everyone else, who think they don't need to listen to everyone else, by giving you all a first assignment, in which you are to work together with the person next to you,' My heart sank, and I turned to the boy next to me, furiously hoping that the person on his other side would pair up with him. But alas, the girl, who seemed as uncomfortable with his presence as I was, had already turned to her other neighbour and they were conversing enthusiastically.

The guy, however, hadn't moved a muscle, and his back was still turned.

'Now some of you went to sit next to someone you already knew and already like, so you think you're going to have it easy, but don't worry, next term I will appoint you a partner based on your results,'

I stopped listening. Easy. This was not going to be easy. I softly scraped my throat as to attract the guy's attention, but he didn't seem to hear me. As the lecture continued, I tried several times to get his attention, but nothing seemed to work. Slowly I started reaching out my hand, as to tap him on his shoulder. I looked at his desk. His bag was still on it, and he hadn't taken anything out of it. Was this guy for real? First day and already not taking any notes. Shit, I wasn't taking any notes either. I quickly pulled back my hand and opened the laptop that I had already taken out..

At the end of the class, I had a plan, while taking notes, I had come up with an idea. But before I could even set in in motion, before the first person had even put their stuff back in their bag, the guy had already gotten up and was halfway through the classroom.

God damn it.

Plan B. I slowly started packing my bag as I tried to come up with what to say. When most of the people had gone, I made my way to the front of the classroom.

'Erm, mister, I mean, professor Anzani, I, erm, I was wondering,' I started carefully.

'Let me guess, you don't like your partner?' professor Anzani said without looking up from erasing his notes from the whiteboard.

'Well, I,' I started, but he interrupted me.

'Look, kid, though luck. You just have to learn that in life, we don't always like the people we work with or for. That's what this whole assignment is about. And no, you are not allowed to do this project alone, or with a group of three. I know it sucks but deal with it. And if you can't, just ask someone if they want to trade or something. Now, if you please, I'd like to have some lunch before I teach my next class. You are dismissed,' he gestured towards the door.

Known to be beaten, I slowly walked toward the classroom door.

So I was fucked. And no one would want to trade. Now what? I sighed and looked up. There, holding the door open for me stood the copper-haired guy. His face was completely blank, but I knew he had heard. He pulled back his arm, and before the door could slam shut, he strode away.

Great.


	2. Chapter 02

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xenia makes new friends.

Even though I had left the previous classroom quite late, I was one of the first to arrive at the next lecture. This time I chose a spot in the front of the classroom.  
It was only the first day, and I already managed to embarrass myself to at least two people. Just great. Slowly I started unpacking my stuff while other students began arriving. Now and then I looked up, wondering if I would see the odd guy again.   
When the classroom was almost full, the door opened again, and a tall copper-haired boy appeared. I couldn't help but stare at him. However, this time he didn't stare back. Completely ignoring me, he walked towards the back of the class to find an empty spot in the shadows again. When he sat down, I quickly looked away, having noticed way too late that I had completely turned around in my seat. I felt my cheeks get hot.   
No.   
Why should I get all flustered? He was the one being rude in the first place. He had been staring at me with that stupid look on his face. And he had turned his back on me after I simply, and politely had asked if he could move his stuff so I could sit. He should be the one feeling embarrassed. What did he expect after such a display? That I would be overjoyed to have to work with him? I scoffed aloud, and the girl that just seated next to me looked up surprised. I quickly turned the scoff into a cough. No, he was the asshole in this story. Not me. The professor came in, and I decided to put the situation out of my head. At least for the time being.

After the second lecture, it was time for lunch. Since I had had so much time to get ready this morning, I decided not to buy lunch in the cafeteria but to eat outside in the courtyard. It might've been cloudy still, but the temperature was at least pleasant. As soon as I stepped outside, my eye fell on the back of a copper-haired guy who seemed to be reading.   
Goddammit. Was there no escaping this idiot?   
As if he had heard me he slammed the book shut got up and paced away, without even a look over his shoulder.   
How in the... How could he have known I was here? Had he known? A sudden tap on my shoulder woke me from my thoughts, and I almost started. I quickly turned around.   
A girl with light brown eyes and an explosive amount of brown curls looked at me curiously. Next to her stood a small guy with black hair tied back in a man-bun and an amused smile on his face.  
'Can I... help you?' I said slowly as the curly-haired girl seemed to creep forward.   
'You're her aren't you?' The girl said, leaning forward even further. I took a step back.  
'Who?' I breathed, getting more uncomfortable with the second.   
'It's her, I'm sure! I told you so!' The girl smiled and finally took a step back as well to direct herself at the man-bun.   
'What?' I asked, confused.   
'You're Anton's daughter, aren't you? Ksi... No Ksen...'  
'Xenia,' I said, 'It's pronounced with a Z,'   
'Then, why the X?' the girl said with a tone that sounded slightly annoyed.  
'Lea!' The guy said, clearly addressing her with her name.  
'What? It makes no sense. Why can't things just be written the way they are read?'  
'Lea, you're rude again,' The man-bun said in a bored voice, looking away from her.  
'Erm, how do you know my dad?' I couldn't help but ask.  
'Anton! We sometimes call him uncle Anton. Your dad is pretty chill, you know? He's my dad's best friend. You know; Ken,' she said with an air of someone who knew what they were talking about. I frowned.  
'Come on, he must've told you about us; he visits us so often. My father, Ken, was the guy who helped your dad out with the company,' she said as if she was explaining to a child that one and one was two. I swallowed. My dad had told me about his friend Ken, but he had never said that he had two kids.  
'Sure,' I lied.  
'Cool,' the girl said with a side-smile. 'Well, I'm Ken's daughter Lea, and this here is my step-brother Matt. Matt winked at me.   
'Wanna join us for lunch then?' Lea asked me.  
'Uh,' I looked over my shoulder, but the copper-haired boy had vanished out of sight, 'Sure,'

'So, you're new here, aren't you? In Edinburgh, I mean,' Lea asked while we walked to a destination seemingly only known to her.   
'Yeah, I've lived most of my life in Greece actually,' I answered her, deciding that if I wanted them to like me, it was best to be open with them.  
'That's so cool,' Matt said, who had started walking at my other side. 'So you're kinda exotic in some way,'  
'And you're saying I'm rude?' Lea laughed while rolling her eyes. I couldn't help but giggle.   
'Well, I wouldn't call it exotic really,' I said shrugging ', but it's a lot sunnier than here,'   
Matt and Lea laughed.  
'What did do there before coming here? Over here, by the way,' Lea pointed at a picnic table a few steps away from us.   
'I worked at a coffee house for a few years,' I explained, ', but my mom wanted me to go to college,'   
'Ah, but you didn't want to go?' Matt asked as he sat next to me. Lea went to sit opposite me.  
'Well, I did, but I preferred going in Greece, you know,' I admitted.   
'Then, why are you here now?' Lea said before taking a bite of an enormous sandwich.   
'Lea!' Matt said indignantly. Lea just shrugged. I giggled again.  
'It's fine. Well,' I hesitated. They both seemed nice. Like, people I could be friends with. In the past, I had always held back information. Scared to give away too much. But this was a different place. With different people.   
'Well, my mother is a businesswoman. She moved with my dad to Greece when they married. But when they split my mom decided to stay in Greece and my dad got the opportunity to start his business here. I decided to stay with my mom because it was just easier that way. I like them both equally though. After high school, I decided to start working, but my mom always wanted more for me. She had made herself from nothing, and she wants me to do the same. And for some reason she wanted me to go to college here. Saying she'd pay for it all.' I finished nervously.   
Lea was chewing the last bite of her sandwich and looked at me through narrowed eyes. I felt that Matt had scooted a little closer to me than I was comfortable with.   
After swallowing her last bite, Lea said; 'A whole life story. I like it. Wanna hear ours?'   
Inside me, the part of me that had been holding my breath finally breathed out. All was well.  
I nodded eagerly.  
'So our story is a little more boring than yours, well a lot more, but hang on.


	3. Chapter 03

'Matt and I were both born and raised here. My mom and his dad left. My dad and his mom met at the last company's New Years party. They got married the next spring, and we've been living happily ever after,' Lea concluded as she folded her hands and let her head rest on them. 'Probably one of the most exciting stories you've ever heard, ey?' Matt joked. Lea and I laughed.  
We talked for the rest of the break. Lea and Matt were genuinely lovely people, and if I hadn't known any better, I would've thought they had known each other for years. Lea was a tough one. She told me she loved sports and that she had been playing soccer all her life. She had been playing at a very high level until she had broken her leg in a match. After that, she had never been able to get back on track again fully. Which, in her words "sucked ass".  
Matt reminded me a little bit of a hippy. He spoke about environmental issues, the problems that came with eating meat and that he hadn't used plastic in a year now. I had met people like him before, although in Greece there weren't many, and they were always so intense. Matt was passionate about the subjects, yes, but not in a pushy way. Never once did he say anything or indicate that I had to do or think the same about it.

An alarm went off, and Lea pulled out her phone.  
'Well, it's time for me to go,' She sighed sadly. 'Matt, can you give her our numbers? Xen, if you ever need anything or just want to hang out, call us,' she said with a wink. 'Gotta run now! Ciao!'  
Lea slung her bag over her shoulder and walked off. Matt and I waved her goodbye.  
'So do you wanna?' Matt asked, leaning back on the table.  
'What?' I said a little confused.  
'Do you want? Our numbers?'  
'Oh, yes. Of course,' I said, and I quickly pulled out my phone, unlocked it and gave it to him. Matt took a while to put in both his and Lea's numbers.  
'There you go, all done,' He said. I looked at the contacts and noticed that behind Lea's name, he had put an emoji of a female with a crown on her head, and behind his name a heart. I giggled.  
'Sure why not,' I said, smiling at him. 'I have to go now too, but I will text you guys, so you have my number as well. Oh, and thank you,'  
'For what?' Matt said as he raised an eyebrow.  
'Just... It's nice to make new friends,' I said, unsure. Matt smiled at me.  
'Any time,' he winked. 

I could've never dreamed that I would make new friends on the first day. Of course, I hoped I would, but I never expected anything. I had had friends in Greece in high school, but when high school ended, we all kind of grew apart. We sometimes still texted with each other, but they either had gone to college or had jobs now, which made it hard to keep in touch. Although I did feel a little sad about it, I knew I could always text them if I needed someone to talk to. Moving to Edinburg was only temporary so making lots of new close friends had never been the plan. But I did like to be with people. To talk to them and share experiences. I was never one who minded being alone. But I did like some company. 

With my head still full of the conversation with Lea and Matt, I walked into the next classroom. This would be the last lecture of the day, a good ending to a good day.  
I sat down and took my phone out of my pocket to text Lea and Matt my number when I felt the hairs at the back of my neck tingle. I looked up. The copper-haired boy had just walked in, and I suspected he had just looked at me. Once again, he ignored me and walked right to the back of the classroom. An annoyed feeling crept up inside me, but I suppressed it. If he ignored me, I would ignore him. I typed out a quick text and had just sent it when the classroom door closed, and the lecture started.

Home again, I decided to surprise my father with a nice dinner. Although I hated cooking, Lea's words had lingered in my head "your dad is pretty chill you know". She had been right. My dad was nice. He never pushed too much, and he always tried to make me feel comfortable. I wondered how much he had told Lea's dad Ken about me. Now that I thought about it, I realized my dad probably didn't really know that much about me. We had never talked much outside the two weeks I would spend with him after Christmas and the one week in the summer. When I was younger, he would try and take me to all these fun events, fairs and parks. It was fun, but the older I got, the more my mom complained about him.  
'Where's he taking you this time? Oh, the funfair? Those places are just a money pit. I can't believe he is still taking you to those kinds of things. You're fourteen for god sakes. Can't he just take you out for a nice dinner or some shopping?' The more she complained, the more I started disliking it. Not because it wasn't fun, but because I know my mom would complain about it afterwards if I told her. So I would ask my father to stay home instead and watch tv. And so we would. We would spend hours watching stupid programs and not saying a word to each other. We did enjoy talking about that together but we never really had any deep or meaningful conversations anymore.  
But now that I lived with him again, I could try and make it right. 

I had just finished setting the table when I heard the front door open and close. 'What's this?' My dad said surprised when he entered the living room.  
'Dinner,' I smiled at him. In wonder, he looked at the dish on the table.  
'I know it's not much...' I said unsure.  
'No, no, louloudi mou. It's lovely. Thank you,' Dad said, and he smiled happily at me. He hadn't used that nickname for me in a while and it made me smile  
'So I met Ken's kids today,' I said when we both sat down.  
'Oh, really?' Dad said as he started loading his plate with rice.  
'Yeah, they recognized me. Did you show them a picture or something?' I wondered aloud. Dad hesitated for a second.  
'Yes. I thought... Since you were going to the same college... I didn't want you to be lonely and... I hope you don't mind,' dad bowed his head apologetically.  
'It's fine dad,' I smiled. 'They're really nice,'  
'Good, good. And how was your first day? Was it difficult to find your way around?' Dad asked as he relaxed again. 

I told him about the first few lectures I had and the assignments they had already given. I didn't say to him that the assignment from the first class should be done in pairs and that my partner wasn't particularly willing

That night I went to bed with a satisfied feeling. On the first day, all had gone quite well. Hopefully, it would stay that way.


	4. Chapter 04

The rest of the week wasn't very different from the first day I had. I would go to class. Spend my breaks with Lea and Matt, and the copper-haired boy would avoid me like the plague. Sometimes I caught myself looking for him, seeing him at the other side of the courtyard or the end of the hallways. But every time, as soon as he came into vision, it was as if he knew I was watching him. And he would mysteriously disappear again. He was always alone, and I wondered if this was just mere coincidence or if he indeed had no friends at all. I couldn't imagine him not having any friends. It was not like he looked like an incel or anything. I believed he could be quite handsome if he wouldn't be looking like someone was. constantly holding a pile of shit under his nose. Maybe if he would smile...

'Hello? Earth to Xenia?' Matt waved his hand in front of my eyes. 'Sorry, what?' I tried to remember what he said.  
'I asked if you wanted to go with us to The Apocolypse,' he repeated. In the corner of my eye, a red head of hair popped up. I couldn't help but look over. In the middle of the courtyard, he had stopped walking. He was talking to a teacher. About what?  
'The Apocolypse?' I repeated vaguely.  
'It's a club. You'll like it; it's not like a regular club. They play mostly old music and rock and stuff,' He tried to explain.  
'Erm,' I said, unsure of what to answer and with my attention still on the pale boy in the courtyard.   
'Who's he?' It was out before I knew it. Matt and Lea looked up at where I was looking at.   
'The red head-pale face?' Matt said, and he frowned. 'What you interested in him for?' For a second I could've sworn he had heard us. It looked as if he slightly tilted his head in our direction.  
'It's nothing,' I quickly said and looked away.   
'So, The Apocolypse,' Lea bulldozed over the situation. 'You gotta come. My girlfriend Mirra will be there too. You got to meet her; she's like the most amazing girl ever. You'll love her. And if you like, we can go shopping beforehand,' With some effort, I forced myself to focus my full attention on the conversation at hand.  
'Sure. I could use some extra clothes. I didn't bring much from Greece, so I was planning on going shopping anyway,' I decided.  
'And after to The Apocolypse then?' Matt asked with a slight note of eagerness.  
'Sure,' I gave in. Matt smiled brightly at me.  
'It's a date then. Tomorrow, Saturday, the four of us,' he winked at me. I wasn't quite sure about the date part, but I decided not to say anything about it as Lea had already started the next topic of discussion: her girlfriend, Mirra.

Unable to help myself, I glanced over to the red-haired guy again. The conversation with the teacher was over, and the teacher had already gone. The guy, however, was looking at his phone — something I had never seen him do before. With a sudden and swift movement, he put it away and started walking in the opposite direction. 

On Saturday, Lea picked me up around noon. She told me her girlfriend Mirra had to work the day, but she would still be joining us in the club later.   
'So, where do you wanna go first?' Lea asked when we stopped in front of a big shopping centre.  
'Uh, you know this is my first time here, right?' I said, unsure.  
'Right, then let me be your tour guide madam,' Lea said in a weird newsreader like voice. 'On your left, you will find the wold famous H&M for all your basic needs, further along, the street you will encounter the more fun and freaky Monki, the perfect store to find you party outfits,' She gestured dramatically. I laughed. 

We had a lot of fun visiting different stores and trying on clothes. Lea convinced me to buy a bright red, tight-fitting dress.  
'Trust me, you won't stand out at all with this, and you have like the perfect body so stop whining and start showing it off,' She said semi annoyed.  
Lea bought a black and white dogtooth patterned pair of pants with a fluorescent yellow crop top.  
'You know, we look like we just came out of a spice girls video like this,' She said as we looked at each other in the mirror.   
We paid and then went out for some quick dinner at the nearest Italian restaurant we could find.

'So, erm, who was that redhead you were so interested in yesterday?' Lea asked nonchalantly before taking a bite of her lasagna. 'I wasn't that interested in him. It was just...,' I tried to defend myself. Lea raised her eyebrows while chewing.  
'Well he's in my class, and I'm supposed to do this project with him, but he refuses to work with me. It's driving me nuts. We don't have that much time to do the project anyway, and he's not even talking to me. It's stressing me out.' This was not a lie. I had been stressed over the project. That's why I had been obsessing over him so much. At least, that's what I told myself.  
'Pffrt. Dickhead. Just tell him to put his ego up his arse until after the project. Men,' Lea scoffed as she took another bite of her lasagna. I snickered. 

After dinner, we went to Lea's house to get ready.   
'We're back,' Lea yelled as she slammed the door behind us. Lea's house was very different from my dad's house. As my dad's house was more like an old farm converted into a home, this was more like something you would see on a tv program about new and modern homes.   
'Wow,' I couldn't help but remark as I looked around me.  
'I know. It's more like a hotel than a home,' Lea said as she pulled up her nose.  
'Are you crazy? This is amazing,' I said.   
'Oi,' Matt's head appeared in the stairwell. 'Mom asked if you could pop in for a bit. She said she wanted to see Xen too,' He said with a nod at me.  
'It's like I'm bringing home some new toy or something for god sakes,' Lea sighed. 'Never mind them. Let's go upstairs,'   
'I don't mind really,' I tried to say but Lea just kind of growled.

'For someone who never wears make-up, you sure do have a lot of make-up,' I said, staring at a huge pantry neatly organised with make-up products.   
'Who says I never wear make-up? I never wear it to school, no but I do like to play around with it, and I often wear it on days off where I have more time and stuff,' Lea said shrugging.  
'Would you like to do mine?' I asked.   
'What?'   
'My make-up. It's not that I couldn't do it myself, but we still have time, and I've never had someone else do my make-up before, and you seem like you'd be good at it,' I offered. Lea smiled at me broadly.  
'Of course my lady, of course, now you sit down here, and I'll make sure that when I'm done with you, no man or woman will be able to resist you,' 

'Aaaaaand, done,' Lea said about half an hour later. A little nervous I got up from my seat and walked over to the mirror.   
I looked simply incredible. She had kept it simple but sophisticated. She had put on a mascara that made my lashes look long and curly but still natural. She had put on a little bit of highlighter and blush, but no foundation, and she had found the perfect shade of lipstick to match with my dress. To top it all off, she had even done my hair. Tied back into a ponytail that seemed effortlessly messy and playful but still felt like it would hold up in a fight.  
'Lea, you should start charging people for. this,' I said, admiring myself in the mirror.   
'What, you thought I was doing this for free?' Lea joked. Someone knocked on the door.  
'Come in,' Lea said without looking up. A small woman with black hair came in. This was unmistakenly Matts mother.  
'I just wanted to see how you girls were doing,' she said in a soft voice.  
'Hi, Joan, We're good thanks. This is Xenia by the way,' Lea said politely as she gestured to me. I waved awkwardly.  
'Oh hi sweety, I'm Joan, Matt's mother. Your father was very excited when he heard you were coming to stay with him. He's a very good soul, you know,' she said lovingly. I nodded and smiled.  
'Well, I'll be off. Let me know if you girls need anything. I'll be in the kitchen,' she said as she scuffled out again.  
'Thanks, Joan,' Lea called after her. She sighed. 'You know, I'm not really into the whole mom thing. But Joan's alright,' Lea said, and she nodded.  
'Now, let's get changed,'


	5. Chapter 05

'Cab's here!' Matt shouted from downstairs.  
'Comming!' Lea called back as we made way for the stairs.

'Wow. Xen. You look amazing,' Matt said when Lea and I came running down.  
'You can drool over her later,' Lea said while I felt my cheeks get hot. 'Get the girl her coat. The meter is running,'   
Matt awkwardly handed me my coat.  
'You look nice too,' I told him. I meant it. I looked like he had put a lot of effort into fixing his hair and the stubble that normally grazed his face was now gone.   
'Come on!' Lea shouted. She had already gone outside. 

'Welcome to The Apocolypse,' Matt said about ten minutes later. In front of the club was only a short queue of people. Lea hadn't been lying when she had said that I wouldn't stand out in the red dress. The girls and boys standing in line were all wearing bright colours and uniquely designed clothes. Some weren't even wearing a coat.   
We got in line and waited for our turn to go in.   
'Mirra's just texted me,' Lea said enthusiastically. 'She's already inside with Ella,'   
'Ella?' Matt said as he looked up in horror.  
'Who's Ella?' I asked. 'Ella is Mirra's younger sister,' Matt said grumpily.  
'And she's got the hots for Matt,' Lea giggled.   
'Dear God, help me,' Matt said as he looked up to the night sky.   
Before I could ask why this was such a problem, we were let into the club.

The club looked a lot bigger on the inside. There was a bar on the right side and a huge dancefloor which was already packed. On the left, there was a stairway which led to a balcony with a sign that said VIP on it. 

'Mirra and Ella are at the bar,' Lea shouted over the music. She took my hand and pulled me towards the bar.   
There was a tall girl with short spikey blonde hair who waved at us. Beside her was a girl who was just a little shorter and had a blonde bob line.   
'Hi Matt,' she said in a shrill voice. This was probably Ella.  
Lea hugged and kissed the tall girl.   
'Mirra, Ella, this is Xenia,' Lea introduced us. I waved at them. I got why Lea was with Mirra. Even my straight ass could tell that she was incredibly pretty. Ella ignored me and squeezed herself in between Matt and me and started talking to him.   
'Shots?' Mirra asked over the loud music. Everyone nodded. Mirra ordered two shots for everyone, and we all drank them together. Ella, refusing to let go of Matt, gave one of hers to him. I wasn't quite sure if she was just nice, or if she wanted to get him drunk in hopes to take him home with her.   
'Now, let's dance!' Lea shouted, and she pulled Mirra and me towards the dance floor.   
I had often gone out in Greece, so I wasn't really afraid to dance, even though I knew I wasn't great at it. After a few songs, Matt came to join us.   
'Where's Ella?' I shouted at him.  
'What? Why? Are you jealous?' Matt jiggled his eyebrows, and I couldn't help but laugh. The alcohol was starting to do its work.  
'She just went to the bathroom, but she'll be back soon,' he said honestly.   
'Man she's a pain in the ass,' he shivered.  
'Talking about pain in the ass,' Lea said who was now closely dancing with Mirra, 'look who's in the VIP section,' I looked up at the balcony.   
In the corner, at a private booth sat a beautiful girl with long blonde flowing hair, with next to her...  
I couldn't believe it.   
His copper hair reflected the brightly coloured moving lights, and his pale skin looked even paler than usual in contrast with the black shirt he was wearing.   
Just then, he looked down. His eyes locked with mine, and there was something like a sly smile playing on his lips. My heart skipped a beat. How could he be here? Had he known? Had he overheard us? But how? He had been too far away. Way too far away. It had to be a coincidence. But there were far too many clubs here.  
He looked away and put an arm around the girl, who leaned into him. Slowly but expertly, he bent towards her and whispered something in her ear. She smiled and started playing with her hair.   
He was so close to her.  
So close.

I felt a surge of anger, annoyance and disappointment flow through me.   
Why? Why was this happening to me?  
I turned my back on the ginger and tried to ignore it, but somehow dancing had become much more difficult. 

One song later Ella returned and it was clear that she would do anything to keep Matt's attention on her. It was a funny sight to see. Ella trying to make sure that she was constantly in Matt's view but at the same time trying to touch him and Matt trying desperately to ignore her. It almost made me forget who was sitting on the balcony.

'More drinks!' Mirra said after what seemed way to short a time. This time it was Lea who ordered two shots for everyone. Matt ordered an additional double whisky, and it looked like he needed it since Ella was still trying to make conversation with him.   
I hesitated for a second when I was handed the two shots. It had been a long time since I had drunk so much, and I wasn't sure if my tolerance was what it used to be.   
Whatever.  
I downed to two shots and turned around to face the dancefloor.  
Apparently, in the time that we had gone over to the bar, my project partner and his date had come down from their VIP booth and were now dancing intimately.   
His moves where unexpectedly smooth and I just now really noticed how good he actually looked.   
He was tall. Taller than most of the guys on the dancefloor. His back was broad, but his arms weren't overly pumped up.   
Goddammit. What a dickhead.   
His date was dancing around him with her hair waving enchantingly. I was sure she had to be a model.   
In a wave of annoyance and drunk thoughts, I took Matts glass and downed the other half of his whiskey.  
'Hey!' matt said indignantly.  
'Shut up, and let's dance,' I took his hand and pulled him onto the dancefloor, ignoring Ella's exasperated protests. The alcohol had given me a new sense of confidence, letting me dance close to Matt. I didn't look over, but I knew the red-haired boy was watching me. I would make him regret ignoring me. I was awesome, and his date was stupid.   
The more I danced with Matt, the more comfortable he seemed to get as well. This was precisely what I had hoped for.  
I turned around and pressed my back to his front. He went with it. I couldn't help but look over to the spot where the copperhead was. He looked at me with a face I found hard to read. Hard to see. I felt Matt place his hands around my waist just as I started to feel incredibly dizzy.   
The world was turning way too fast.   
The music was way too loud.  
The lights were way too bright, and its movement disorienting.   
I had to getaway.

'Toilet,' I shouted at Matt, and I pulled myself from his grip to get away from him.   
Stumbling I made my way to the toilet sign I had seen when I entered.   
There was a line of at least eight girls in front of me. This would take way too long.   
I had to getaway.   
I turned around and stumbled towards the entrance. I ran out of the bar around the street corner. I didn't want to be seen by the people still waiting in line.

The cold outside air came as a relief to me. I grasped a lamppost to keep myself upright. 

'You alright, darling?' a male voice spoke to me.  
'Fine, leave me alone,' I said automatically.   
'Ah, come on darlin, let's have a little fun ay?' the voice said, and I saw a dark figure come up to me.  
'Fuck off,' I swore at him, still clutching the lamppost.   
'Now that's no way to speak to me,' the voice growled. 'You come with me now,'  
I felt two large, rough hands grasp my wrists tightly.  
'Get off, you're hurting me,' I cried out.   
I felt the world turn upside down just as my stomach gave an uproar.   
Before I could stop myself, I felt myself throw up.


	6. Chapter 06

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After getting sick, Xenia gets help from an unexpected ally.

Swearing loudly, the man let go of me, causing me to drop to my knees. A door slammed, and footsteps came running over to me. 

'Get away from her,' an unfamiliar voice spoke threateningly.   
'That bitch! My clothes! Oh, I will make you pay, you little whore,' the first man swore.

'No, you won't,' the unfamiliar vice spoke calmly but still very much hostile. Someone with black boots stepped in front of me.  
'You think a punk like you is going to stop me,' the first man said, his voice skipping over with anger. The unfamiliar voice laughed a soft and low laugh. He took a step away from me, towards the other man.

Suddenly, and with a yelp, the man who had grabbed me tumbled backwards and ran away screaming. The man in black came closer and bent down to squat beside me. A pale hand holding a handkerchief reached out to me.

'Here,' he said with a soft voice. I didn't have to look up to know who it was.   
'I don't need your help,' I said as I felt another upsurge coming. I couldn't help it. Another splatter of vomit hit the pavement. He waited until I was done when he spoke again. 

'I know. If you had thrown up on him again, I'm quite certain he would have left you alone,' he said, reaching his handkerchief out to me again. Reluctantly I took it from him. He got up as I cleaned the tears from my face. 

'Get up,' He said. It was not as much a demand as a request.  
'I can't,' I retorted as another tear rolled down my face. Although I was quite certain my stomach was empty, and there would be no more, my vision was still blurry and shakey. For a few seconds, it was silent as I sat there on the ground and he stood next to me. 

'Fuck,' he swore, barely audible. Then he reached a hand out to me. I didn't take it.  
'You're going to sit there in your pile of sick until your friends come and find you?' he said. A vision, although blurry came to me in which Lea and Matt found me sitting outside like the sad piece of shit I was. No, I definitely didn't want my new friends to see me this way too. 

I took his hand. A shiver went through my spine. Although his hands were quite soft, they were unnaturally cold as well. As soon as I was up, he let go of me, causing me to sway again. He quickly caught me by my shoulders, and his cold touch made me shiver again. When I was stable, he let go of me. 

'You need water,' he said as he came to stand next to me. I still didn't dare to look at his face.   
'I'm not going back in there,' I mumbled obstinately.   
'I know,' he said softly, and I felt him drape a jacket around my shoulders. I looked up in surprise. 

His face was quite close to mine. His pale skin showed no imperfections. His lips were smooth and a soft and inviting pink colour. The dark lashes around his light blue eyes were in a perfect contrast of each other. I felt my heartbeat fasten.  
He quickly did a step back and looked away from me.

'Let's get you some water,' he repeated, and he jerked his head as an indication to follow him. I stumbled after him, unsure why I was going with him.  
Whenever I tripped or started swaying, he caught me, but he was always quick to let go of me again.

'Here,' he pointed at some lights at the end of the street. I couldn't see it clearly, but apparently, it was a twenty-four-hour shop. We went in, and he sat me down at the empty table near the window.

'Stay, I'll be right back,' he whispered. His cold breath tickled my neck.  
'Woof,' I said with a dull voice.  
'Good girl,' he chuckled softly. I heard him move through the shop while I tried to blink the dizziness away.

'For you,' his soft voice came from behind my left ear and the hairs in my neck twitched as he put two bottles of water and an apple in front of me.   
I grasped one of the bottles and started drinking while he went to sit opposite me. He didn't look at me. Instead, he looked through the window. 

We sat in silence as I ate my apple and drank the water, and slowly I started to feel a little better. I watched him as he still looked out of the window. His beautiful face. His stupid face.

'Why' I asked as I put down the water bottle a little too harshly.   
'Hm?' He looked up, awaking from his thoughts.   
'Why are you suddenly so nice to me?' I asked a bit stingy. He didn't answer me but frowned. This annoyed me even more.

'Is it because you want to make up for being an asshole in class?' I pushed on. He looked away again, out of the window.  
'Because you were,' I continued. He still didn't say anything.  
'You're kind of a dick, you know?' I tried to invoke him. Finally, he looked at me again.  
'Yeah, first to me, and now to that pretty little model date. You just left her behind. Who does that? You really must be an asshole,' I babbled. He looked out of the window again before getting up.   
'A cab is coming for you,' he said shortly. His face was blank again.  
'Good evening,' he said before turning around and walking away. 

I watched him as he walked out of the store, down the street and turned a corner. What a pompous prick. Who did he think he was? Mr Copperhead. Yes. That would be his name. Mr Copperhead. Stupid Mr Copperhead.

I continued drinking my water and eating my apple while skulkingly looking out of the window. It wasn't too long before a cab stopped in front of the store. 

When and how had he ordered a cab? 

For a moment, I stayed seated, not wanting to obey his commands like a stupid dog. But then again, I did want to go home. I got up.

Walking had become a lot easier already. Apparently, the water had helped. Defeated, I opened the car door and let myself fall into the back seat. 

'How much sir?' I asked when we arrived at my house.  
'Don't worry miss; the ride has already been paid for.' the cabbie answered.   
'Oh,' it was the only thing I could think of saying. 

I got out and walked over to the door. After a lot of fumbling in my purse, I found the keys.

In my room, I kicked off my shoes and let myself fall on the bed. An unfamiliar smell penetrated my nose. I let my head drop to the side. It was Mr Copperhead's jacket. I had still been wearing it. I slowly breathed in the perfume as I closed my eyes.   
Mr Copperhead.


	7. Chapter 07

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after a disastrous night.

An annoying sound crept into my ears.  
I opened my eyes.  
Again the sound.  
Knock knock knock.  
'Xenia?' my father's voice whispered through the door.  
'Just a second dad,' I answered him.  
I quickly kicked off the shoes I was still wearing and crept underneath the covers, pulling them up to my chin.  
'Come on in,' I said, my voice breaking. The door opened slightly, and I could just make out dad's face in the hallway.  
'I hope I didn't wake you?' dad said, concerned.  
'No, no, not at all,' I lied.  
'Oh, good. Well, erm, I just wanted to say Ken asked me to go fishing with him this morning, so I'll be leaving in a bit if that's okay with you,'   
'Yeah, sure, okay,' I nodded.   
'Okay, well, then, if I don't see you anymore, I'll be back before dinner,' he assured me.  
I nodded again, and he smiled before closing the door.  
I dropped the covers. A faded smell of perfume entered my nose, and I breathed in slowly.

Last night had been a disaster.

I got up and walked over to the window to open the curtains. The sky was a pale blue with few clouds. Today was the first day since I had been here that there was no overcast.

There was no denying it. I had fucked up yesterday. I wasn't sure what had come over me and why I had acted the way I had. 

I took off the jacket I was still wearing. It was a denim jacket, at least four sizes too big for me. Carefully I put it over the chair on my desk as if it could feel pain if I would handle it too roughly.   
I let myself fall on the bed again and took out my phone.   
Nine missed calls — four from Lea and five from Matt. 

"are you okay?"  
"Matt said you went to the bathroom like 15 mins ago,"  
"do you need help?"  
"please text me back"  
"text me back, or I will come get you"  
"okay I just checked the toilet, and you're not there wtf Xen?"  
"WHERE"  
"ARE"  
"YOU"  
"???"  
"omg if you don't react soon I will fucking call the police"  
"xen please answer I'm so fucking freaked out right now"  
"okay wtf ginger boy just came up to us"  
"he told us he's taking you home"  
"please let me know if you're okay asap"

Dear Lea. She had been so worried about me. What must she think of me? And apparently, Mr Copperhead had told them he would take me home. But when had he done that? And why? 

I checked my other missed texts from Matt.

"Xen are you okay?"  
"I hope I didn't do anything to make you feel uncomfortable."  
"I'm sorry if I did."  
"I never meant to."  
"please text back."  
'I'm worried about you."  
'We're all worried about you."  
"where are you?"

I sighed. I felt embarrassed. What must they think of me now? I had acted like a crazy person. And I had probably hurt poor Matt. I wasn't an idiot. Of course, I knew he liked me. And I had used him to make Mr Copperhead jealous. But why did I want to make him jealous? I didn't even really know him. Of course, I thought he was handsome. And apparently, he could be nice too. I had been an absolute dick to him for no particular reason. 

I rubbed my face in my hands. I needed to getaway. I wanted to go home. To take a walk at the beach, with my bare feet on the sand. But there was no soft sand here. And there was no beach. But there was water.

'Dad!' I suddenly yelled without even really thinking about it.   
'DAD!' I yelled again, louder this time. 

I heard footsteps running up the stairs, and the door slammed open.  
'WHAT?' dad's face was pale, and his eyes were big as he looked at me with a scared expression.  
'Can I come with you?' I asked calmly.  
'What?' he repeated. I could see the tension in his shoulders drop.   
'Can I come with you on the fishing trip?' I repeated.  
'What? Erm, huh, okay, yeah, sure,' he panted.  
'Thanks, Dad,' I said, and I smiled at him. Dad didn't move a muscle but still looked at me with a concerned look on his face.  
'I'm okay dad, sorry I scared you. I'll go get ready now, okay?' I reassured him,'  
'Yeah, okay,' He said slowly. It took him another few seconds before fully realizing what I had said. Softly mumbling to himself in greek, he stepped back out of my room and closed the door again. 

I quickly changed into something clean. The shower had to wait 'till tonight. I didn't want to inconvenience my dad by taking even longer than necessary. When I say down on the chair to tie my laces, I smelled it again. A scent, not too strong, but so inviting that it made me inhale more slowly and deeply. I turned around. It was the denim jacket. Without really thinking about it, I let my hand slide over the fabric. I got up and put on the jacket. The sleeves were quite a bit too long but I rolled them up to match. I got up and looked at myself in the mirror. I was definitely too big. But I thought it looked quite cute. After all, wasn't it trendy nowadays to wear oversized clothes? 

'Xen, are you almost ready?' My dad's voice startled me and I tore away from my mirrors image. My dad was standing in the doorway, clearly eager to get going.'Yes, I'm ready,' I said automatically.  
'Okay let's go then. Nice jacket by the way,' dad said while opening the door a little further so I could pass him. 

While driving up to the lake I prepared myself. I knew Ken would say something about my disappearance last night. Matt and or Lea would've told him all about it by now. What would I say? The truth? Part of it. I drank too much, got sick, the queue at the toilet had been too long and I had gone outside. I had thrown up and then...and then...  
A classmate had helped me get home.   
Perfect.

'So you had a good night last night?' dad broke the silence.  
'Yeah. Yeah it was cool,' I answered casually.  
'Good, good.''You still seeing that Nico boy?' Dad asked suddenly.  
'What? Oh no we broke up a long time ago. I was with Lucas after him but we broke up too when I came here,' I said a bit awkward.  
'Oh, I'm sorry,' dad said as he made a right.  
'Oh don't be, it's fine. He wasn't right for me anyway,' I waved.  
Dad laughed.   
'You are so much like your mother. Always on the hunt, but getting bored so easily,' he chuckled.  
'Dad!' I said semi exasperated. 'I'm not getting bored with them, they're just never right. They either try to buy me, or they don't do anything anymore once we're together. I wanna go on adventures together you know, like you and mom did,' I shrugged.  
'First of, too much information dear, and second, look where your mom and I ended up,' dad said.  
'I know,' I sighed, but at least you had fun for a while,'  
'True,' dad smiled.


	8. Chapter 08

When we finally arrived at the fishing spot, Ken was already there, waiting for us.

'Finally, I thought you lost your way,' Ken said smiling.  
'Yeah, sorry about that, traffic, you know,' dad said.  
'And I see you brought Xenia with you,' Ken smiled at me and waved. A bit awkward I waved back.'I didn't know you liked fishing,' Ken asked as we walked up to him.  
'I don't actually,' I said, 'I just wanted to get out of the house for a bit,' Ken nodded agreeing.  
'Well, let's go then,' he said as he picked up his stuff from the ground and turned around.

It was a very short walk to the river. Where no-one really said anything.I helped my dad and Ken set up their stuff and went to sit on a fallen tree a few feet away from them, so they could talk in private if they wanted to. Not that I thought they would. They were both not that talkative. 

As I sat down I took out my phone. I had to send something back to Lea and Matt to let them know I was fine. It was still early, and they hadn't texted me again just yet, so I suspected they were still asleep. Apparently Ken didn't know anything about the situation either. It would be best to text them before they'd wake up. I started typing.

'Sorry about yesterday, the alcohol got me bad. I'm not used to drinking anymore I guess XD. I'm totally fine. The redhead got me a cab home. I fell asleep immediately so that's why I didn't respond. Please forgive me,'

Was it too pleading? Would it be satisfactory? I sighed. Just send it. I tapped the screen and the sound of the message getting send-off came from my phone. I didn't feel like giving any more explanation and decided to turn my phone to silent mode. Wouldn't want to scare the fish away anyway. 

I put in some earbuds and put on some music and zoned out as I stared at the backs of my dad and Ken.

I shot up as I got awoken from a yell. A little bewildered I looked around me. Dazed and confused by the environment I was in, it took me a while to piece together where I was. I blinked rapidly and saw my dad getting up with a large fish in his hands. Ken was talking to him excitedly and took out his phone to take a picture of my dad with the fish. I smiled. They were like little schoolboys.

I wasn't sure how long I had been sleeping, but my body felt a bit sore from the uncomfortable position I had fallen asleep in.

'Dad, is it okay if I go for a bit of a walk?' I decided to ask him, while taking out my earbuds. He put his thumb up to me. 

I decided to walk parallel to the river, so I could easily find my way back. The Scottish wind was stern but the warmth of the sun made it feel a little better. After a while, I found a spot where the river was not as rowdy and the edge was easily approachable. I took off my shoes and socks and slowly walked into it. The water was icy cold, but I didn't mind too much. 

I just stood there looked at the nature surrounding me. It was beautiful. Very different from what I was used to in Greece, but still, beautiful.  
A sudden snap at the other side of the river awoke me from my thoughts. I looked around. In a flash, I saw something disappear behind a tree.

Frozen, but not because of the cold water I stood there, staring at the exact spot. Had it been an animal or a person? It could've easily been a squirrel. Or a killer.

For a long time, I stared at the spot, until I finally decided it had probably been a bird or something. With my feet now almost numb from the cold I got out of the river and sat down next to the edge.   
I looked down at the sleeves of the denim jacket. I didn't quite understand why I had put it on. I sniffed my shoulder. The scent of it was hypnotizing.   
I quickly breathed out and looked at the river again. On Monday I would see Mr Copperhead again. I had behaved like an idiot. Again. I got up.  
It was time to start being more serious. The project had to be done, and it had to be done with him. I would just have to go up to him, apologize and give his jacket back. Act like nothing ever happened.  
'I'll be coming for you Mr Copperhead, and we'll do the project together,' I said aloud determinately. I put on my socks and shoes and headed back to my dad and Ken.

'...absolutely. horrendous,' I heard Ken finish his sentence from afar.   
'It's like Jack the Ripper all over again,' my dad's voice sounded.  
'Almost yes, but without the prostitutes,' Ken said thoughtfully. 

'What's without prostitutes?' I asked curiously as I approached. Dad looked up.  
'Ah, there you are, Ken and I were just talking about something that was on the news this morning,' dad explained. 'A few young women have been attacked in Whitechapel. It was all over the news since they were harmed quite badly. Anyway, the fish don't seem to want to bite anymore, so we were thinking of going back home.'  
I nodded in agreement.

Monday morning in the bus I went over my plan a thousand times. I would find Mr Copperhead. Apologize to him and give him his jacket back, which I had neatly folded and bagged, and I would ask him to work with me on the project. It would be a definite success and nothing and no one would stop me.

When I got out of the bus I scanned the school grounds for a head of red hair. It was empty. I had taken a bus earlier but had now arrived so early that not a human being was in sight. I decided to go and sit on a bench near the entrance so I could see who was coming and going.

Ten minutes later the next bus arrived and people started walking up to the school. Some of them were still half sleeping, others were already going over their papers, but none had red hair that brushed their shoulders. 

The parking lot started to fill itself and more and more people passed me by. I was starting to get nervous. There were only 7 minutes left until class would start and he was still not here. Was he not coming?

I was so fixated on finding the head of red hair that I hardly heard someone calling me. It was only when someone tapped my shoulder that I started and looked up.   
'Are you deaf?' Matt said annoyed.   
'What?'  
'ARE YOU DEAF,' he spoke loudly.  
'I, what? No!' I said a bit angrily.   
'I have been calling you for ages, but you didn't even react to me. Are you avoiding me?' His anger changed to concern.  
'No, I... Of course not!' I exclaimed.  
'Good, good... I was afraid I overstepped. You left so suddenly and I...,' Matt's voice trailed away.   
I remembered how close we had danced, how I had seduced him. Knowing full well that he liked me. It had been insensitive of me. 

'Matt, I am so sorry I left like that. I just got sick. Please forgive me,' I said to him softly.   
His eyes soften.  
'Of course, of course, you did nothing wrong, don't worry about it,' he smiled softly.   
Something in the corner of my eye drew my attention away from the conversation. With a seemingly empty bag loosely hanging over his shoulder, Mr Copperhead walked right past us. 

'Matt, I'm so sorry, but I got to go, my class is starting,' I said hastily before turning around and dashing off.  
'Oh, just know that Lea is pretty pissed at you!' Matt called after me.

Just great, something else I had to fix.


	9. Chapter 09

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xenia learns Mr Copperheads true name

'Hey, Hey!,' I yelled. Mr Copperhead didn't react as I ran after him.  
'Hey!,' I yelled again as I caught up to him. I stretched out my hand for his shirt but before I could touch him he abruptly stopped and turned around.

'What?' he said with a smooth and flat voice. I puffed a few times before looking up at him. His eyes were startlingly bright.  
'I... I...,' I started, losing my words.  
'Yes, yes, you would like to tell me how much you love me for saving you,' Mr Copperhead said, turning around and continuing to walk towards the classroom. 'You want to thank me with all your heart and beg me to stay with you forevermore,' he continues with a snide voice.

Was this guy for real? Was he actually making fun of me trying to apologize to him? I followed him with rage in my heart.  
'I know, you are soooo welcome. I know I'm just amazing and the best. I am too good for this world,' he continued. He walked into the classroom and some of the others looked up as he kept talking, with me walking closely behind him.  
'If you insist on setting up a fangirl group that's fine with me,' he said mockingly. I bit my cheeks. The nerve of this guy! I wanted nothing more than to smack him.  
'But I would prefer it if you'd refer to me as "your majesty" from now on, oh and don't go thinking I will ever be yours, I never stick around for long. I'm just too desirable,' he finished as he let himself fall into his seat. He smirked up at me. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to plant my fast into his stupid grin. I breathed in slowly and closed my eyes for a second.

'Hi, I'm sorry about last weekend. I was very rude to you when you're were trying to help me. I'd like to thank you for that and I hope you can forgive me. I brought back your coat. Thank you for lending it to me. I would also like to repay you for the cab ride,' I said completely calm and friendly.   
His reaction was exactly what I had been hoping for. The nasty smirk had vanished from his face and now showed a frown of disbelief. But I was not to be thrown off. I sat down next to him and bend over towards him, as close as I felt comfortable with.

'Thank you, please let me pay you back,' I repeated. I could play this game too. But no word of is was a lie. I wanted to pay him back. I wanted to thank him for helping. Even though was an arrogant son of a bitch who deserved a good can of whoop-ass. I looked into his eyes again. Their light blue colour looked like the pale sky on an early morning, and for a second I forgot that I was angry with him.His frown faded and made way for a softer expression, although I was unsure of what it was.

'Are you feeling any better?' he asked. His tone of voice had changed. It was soft and seemed genuinely interested.'Quite well, thank you,' I said a little caught off guard. A door slammed and the room went quiet. I quickly pulled back and directed my attention to the professor that had just entered the room.

'Sorry I'm late,' Mr Anzani said, 'My five your old decided this morning that our dog was princess Mulan and that she needed a haircut.' Most students laughed. 'As you can imagine this was not her greatest moment, but we live and learn. So! Let's start. Do any of you have questions on chapter 9?'|

During the lecture, Mr Copperhead stayed completely silent and still. Although he had brought a bag with him, he hadn't taken anything out. No laptop and not even a notebook. He just sat there. Staring at the teacher. This didn't bode well for our working together. If he didn't make any notes. How could he remember anything that was said? As I rammed on the keyboard of my old laptop it got increasingly annoying to see him sitting there out of the corner of my eye. Just sitting. Doing nothing. This project would be a disaster. I could feel it. And I would end up doing it all on my own anyway.

'So I expect you to read chapter 10 to 20 before we see each other next time and you still have three weeks to turn in your paper,' Mr Anzani ended the lecture. Everywhere students started packing their bags and talking.

'Aaron,' Mr Copperhead suddenly said.  
'Pardon?' I replied confused.  
'My name is Aaron,' He repeated. I looked at him, a bit offset.  
'Xenia,' I said awkwardly.  
'The sacred rule of hospitality,' Aaron said quietly.   
'Yes,' I said breathlessly.  
He got up and stretched his hand out to me. In it was a small rectangular piece of paper. Silently I took it from him.  
'Give me a call, if you ever want to work on that project,' he said.  
I looked at the card.   
"Aaron Smith" it stated, with underneath it a phone number. The back was blank.  
By the time I looked up he was already some steps away.  
'Wait! Your coat!' I called after him. He turned around and smiled.  
'You can keep it. It looks better on you anyway,'

He had already left the classroom when I realised what he had said. How could he say that, when he had never seen me wearing it?  
A sudden flashback popped up in my brain. I was standing in the water with my feet bare. I heard a snap and turned around. Something disappeared behind a tree. Something big. Something with red hair. Someone...

I spend the rest of the day obsessing over what Aaron had said. Had it really been him behind that tree? The thought of it made me shiver.

It was only when the bell rang for lunchtime that I remember what Matt had said. Lea had been angry with me about what had happened. I decided I'd better go look for her during break. I knew there would be a chance that I couldn't find her. After all, she didn't have the same roster as I did, and I did not know when she had her break. 

I hadn't been looking for long when I found her sitting in the corner of the cafeteria. Luckily she was alone.

'Hey,' I said as I approached her. Lea looked up and a frown appeared on her face.  
'Hey,' she said flatly as she looked away again.   
'Can I sit with you?' I asked politely. Lea shrugged. I had barely sat down when Lea started talking again.  
'You know, some people tell me that I can come across as rude or whatever even though I try to be nice. I think personally. I am not that rude. Do you know what I deem rude? I think it's rude to go out with your friends and then suddenly leave without a fucking word and then text them the next morning with about five words saying you're okay. That's rude.' she said pissed.  
She was right.

'That certainly is rude. That person probably should've called you and told you in person they were okay. They also should go to you at lunch break to try and beg for your forgiveness,' I said.  
Lea looked up.  
'I'm sorry Lea. You're totally right. It was rude. I should've called you the next day but I was just so tired and I didn't know what to say. And I know that's not an excuse,' I continued hastily when Lea opened her mouth to speak again,' but I was so embarrassed. It was my first night out in a long time and I had behaved like an utter fool. I had gotten drunk after two drinks and I had danced like an idiot and then I had gotten sick. I was hoping to throw up in the toilet, but there was a queue so I went outside and barfed there. Twice. Some of it on a dude who was trying to get with me. He didn't like it much,'  
Lea snickered. 'I gather he didn't. You know we were worried sick. Matt was in all kinds of states. He was about to call the police when gingertwat came back in and told us he got you a cab home. Of course, he disappeared again before we could ask him any more, but as you can imagine, the entire situation kind of ruined the night,' Lea said a little annoyed.  
'I'm so sorry. How can I make it up to you?' I pleaded.  
'Tell me first why that redhaired punk was involved,' Lea demanded.  
'To be honest, I don't know. As I said, I went outside. A dude came up to me and acted like a dick. Honestly, I'm not even sure if I had already barfed by then. I got sick several times and it's all a bit hazy. But he went away and I was sitting on the pavement and suddenly Aaron was there,'  
'Aaron?' Lea interrupted.  
'Yeah, that's his name. Anyway, he appeared and he helped me get up, gave me his jacket because I was freezing and took me to that 24/7 shop nearby where he got me something to drink and he got me a cab home,' I shrugged. Suddenly a light went on in my head. What an idiot I had been. Of course, he had seen me in his jacket. He had given it to me that night and I had put it on. How could I have missed that? Ugh.

'Sounds like "Aaron",' Lea pulled a face as she said his name, 'likes you.'  
I shook my head. 'No I don't think so, I tried to return his jacket to him this morning and at first, he was a real dick to me. But then I stayed polite and he came too as well. He gave me his number so I could reach him for the project and he told me to keep his jacket,'  
Lea raised her eyebrows at me. 'And that is definitely not something someone would do if they like you,' she said mockingly.  
I pressed my lips together. 'Ah. I see your point here. But trust me. I don't think he likes me. There's something about his manner when I'm close to him,' I paused and thought for a second. 'It's like he feels uncomfortable when I'm near. Confused or something,'  
Lea stared at me with a face that said enough.  
'Oh shut up,' I said annoyed.   
Lea laughed.


	10. Chapter 10

Lea's laugh had broken the tension between us.  
She told me about how they left quite quickly after I had since my disappearance had put a damper on the mood. Apparently, Matt had been, in Lea's words, inconsolable, and Ella had tried everything to cheer him up and distract him but nothing had worked. 

'So, when are you gonna call your new loverboy to ask him to work on your "project"?' Lea said, using her fingers to indicate parenthesis.   
I rolled my eyes. 'I don't know. I mean, I have a short day on Friday, so maybe then?' I shrugged.  
'Oooohhh, Friday. It's date night. By candlelight. And you have the rest of the week to think about what you will wear and,' Lea quickly stopped when she saw my face. The bell rang at exactly the right moment and Lea and I said our goodbyes. 

As I opened my laptop for the next class, a piece of paper fell from my screen. I picked it up. It was Aaron's card. It would be smart to text him now. Otherwise, he might plan something else that day. I took out my phone and put in his number. As I wrote the text my heart pounded just a little faster than usual. I ignored it. 

When I was young I had been quite chubby and my face had been full of acne. I got bullied a lot about that. But as I had gotten older, the acne had cleared up and I had grown into my body. Suddenly I had gotten a lot of attention from boys. I had never gotten used to that. Whenever someone seemed to show the tiniest amount of interest in me, my heart would start pounding just a little faster. Even if I wasn't interested in them. After all, who doesn't like to be admired and desired? Up to a certain extent of course. But I always tried to ignore it.   
"Don't let it get into your head!" mom always said. And so I didn't. At least, I tried.

I put my phone away and focused on the lecture. It had barely been a minute when I felt it buzz. It was from Aaron.  
"See you then" was his reply. Good. We had set a date. Not a date. It was for the project. Just for the project. Damn you, Lea, with your suggestions. 

At the end of the day, I was tired. More tired than usual. I decided to go to bed early that night.

The rest of the week went by in the blink of an eye. Before I knew it I woke up and it was Friday morning. 

It was only when I had changed my top for the third them when I realized what I was doing. Ridiculous.   
Being nervous all just because I was going to see Aaron again that day.   
Stupid.   
I grabbed the clothes I had thrown on the floor while I was changing and felt something plastic underneath it. It was the bag with Aaron's jacket. I had thrown it there, in the corner of my room last Monday when he had told me I could keep it. I hadn't been sure what to do with it since I wasn't planning on wearing it. I just wanted him to take it back. 

I sighed.   
I would just have to take it with me again and insist on giving it back this time. I picked it up from the ground and stuffed it away in my backpack.

I would only have one lecture that day, and after that, we would meet up in the college library. 

Luckily the lecture was so interesting that I almost forgot about my appointment after it. It was five minutes before the end of the class when my phone buzzed.

'I will be waiting for you,' It said.  
Wow, really?  
Couldn't he just have texted "am here, see you in a bit"?  
This sounded just weird.   
Ugh.   
Couldn't he just be normal?

A few minutes later I was finally walking towards the library. As expected, there weren't that many people. Most people wanted to finish early on Friday and tried to get the most out of their weekend. Normally I would do the same, but since we had a lot of work to do, I had gathered that this would be the best and most quiet time to do it.  
I didn't have to look for long before finding him.  
He was sitting in the back of the library at one of the smallest tables that were available. His bag was on the ground and his long red hair covered the majority of his face. He was holding a book, reading.

'Hi,' I spoke awkwardly as I walked up to him.   
'Hi,' he responded without looking up from his book.  
'Maybe we should go sit somewhere else, I don't think there will be enough space,' I babbled.  
'No thanks I'm good,' he said still fixated on his book.  
This freaking guy.   
Alright then.  
I let myself fall on the chair and started pulling out my stuff and putting it on the table. There was barely enough room and I had to try my best to keep my legs to myself as the space underneath the table was also very limited. 

As soon as I was done Aaron closed his book and looked up at me. As ever his eyes were an unusual sea of blue.  
'How are you today?' Aaron's question overwhelmed me.  
'What?'   
'Are you well?' he repeated.  
'Yes fine thanks,' I answered dryly. I wasn't here for formalities or inquiries about his health. I was here for business.  
'I'm glad to hear it,' he smiled at me.  
'Yes, well erm,' I started.   
'Slept well?' he continued. He sat back and put his hands together.  
'What? No. I mean yes. I mean, that's beside the point. What is this? A health checkup? Are you a doctor? We're here for that bloody project remember,' I spat a little too loudly.  
'I'm sorry. You're right. I was just interested,' Aaron said, still smiling.  
'Well be interested in something else. Shouldn't you get out your stuff?' I asked still on edge  
.'What kind of stuff?' he replied simply.  
'What kind of... Your laptop, a notebook, anything!' I hissed.  
Aaron shook his head.   
My heart was racing.  
'You mean to tell me that you brought a bag... But there's nothing in it?' I said slowly trying to compose myself.  
'Well, technically there is something in it, however, it is none of those things,' he smiled again.  
'Did you do any work at all?' I said through gritted teeth.   
Aaron shrugged.  
'Póso malákas íse!' I spat. It had been a long time since I had sworn in Greek.  
Aaron laughed softly.  
Angrily I picked up my stuff and started hurling everything back in one by one.  
'Why. Come. Here. When. You. Didn't. Do. And. Didn't. Bring. Shit?' I said, with every word flinging something into my bag.   
'Look, I'm sorry, you're right. I should've prepared. I just thought...' Aaron started with a sincere apologetic voice, but I cut him off.  
'You just thought what? That I would do all the work? Well, no fucking way malakas. You do your part I do mine and if I get a bad grade because of you, I will make sure to make your life miserable vlakas,' I spat at him.   
I knew I was swearing at him in greek and he wouldn't understand it, but I didn't care. Who the hell did this guy think he was? Assface. 

I stormed away, hearing him call my name but I didn't care. How arrogant could someone be to not do any work and not even bring their stuff? What kind of human would do that?


	11. Chapter 20

Still furious I ran down the hallway barely even looking where I was going. I ended up standing in the school way entrance, panting. When I checked my watch I noticed that I had just missed the previous bus. The next one wouldn't arrive for 15 minutes. Pissed off by everyone and everything I sat down on a bench near the entrance.   
After barely a minute of angrily mumbling to myself, I heard someone call my name.  
'Yooo, Xen. Wow, you don't look too happy,' It was Matt. His friendly face calmed me down a little as he went to sit next to me. 'What's up?'   
'Some people are asshats that's what's up,' I spoke.  
'Not me or Lea I hope?'   
'Oh, of course not,' I said trying to smile at him.   
'So who's the bastard?' Matt asked, seemingly intriguing. Before I could answer I heard footsteps and someone came walking around the corner.   
Aaron. Perfect.  
For a second I wanted to jump up and yell at him some more, but I knew it was of no use. Instead, I turned my head away from him, so that I didn't have to look at his stupid face.  
There was a sound of a door opening and closing, and I knew he had gone outside.   
'So I'm guessing he's the one,' Matt asked.  
'Yes,' I said shortly. An angry flame lighting up again in my chest.  
'But I thought he was your friend. That night when you disappeared...,' Matt started, but I cut him off, too angry to be decent.  
'Yes he helped me out and that was all super nice and whatever but that doesn't give him the right to be an asswipe now,' I said angrily and quickly muttered something under my breath.  
'What was that?' Matt laughed.  
'Greek. Don't make me translate it,' I said. I looked through the glass door outside. I could barely make out the red-haired figure getting into his car. 

'You know what, no. No, I will not let him ruin my day. Say something to distract me,' I said and I turned around so quickly that I almost slapped Matt in the face with my hair.   
'Ermm,' He said a little caught off guard. 'Did you know penguins have knees?'   
'What?'  
'Yeah, they do. It's weird, right? If they do have knees then why do they walk so ridiculously? What's the use?'  
Matt looked so serious that I couldn't help but laugh.  
'Glad to see you smile again,' Matt said, smiling too. 'Anyway, if you want to get your mind off of things, maybe you would like to go to the cinema with me tomorrow evening. This movie has just been released called "A New Dawn" and it's supposed to be amazing,'  
'Is it a horror movie? Because I'm really not great with horrors,' I said.  
'No, no, not at all. It's more like fantasy, but not scary,' Matt said quickly.  
'Okay. Sure. I would like that. As friends of course,' I said apprehensively.  
'Yeah. As friends,' Matt repeated.  
'Alright then,' I nodded.  
'Cool. Yeah, I would've asked Lea but she hates fantasy and science fictions,' Matt remarked casually.  
'Oh, so I'm the second choice?' I joked.  
'No, never, I...' Matt started, but I cut him off again.   
'Kidding. Just kidding,' 

I spend the entire day of my Saturday working on the project. Whether Aaron or not was going to work on it, I had decided I didn't care. I would do my part and show the teacher that I had done the work and that the problem was with him and not with me. I had already done some of the work on it throughout the days previous so it was a matter of compiling most of it. Although it seemed so simple beforehand, it took me much longer than expected. This really wasn't something someone could easily do in a day or two. 

When the timer rang that I had set for myself, I had almost forgotten that I had made an appointment that night. Although I found it difficult to leave behind my work, it felt good to go out and distract my mind for a bit. I would have more time to work on it tomorrow. 

I had decided to wear something simple that night, and that I would drive myself, as not to give Matt any ideas. I wanted to make sure he knew that I just wanted to be his friend, nothing more. 

Although I had had my drivers licence for a few years now, driving on the other side of the road was scary. But I knew I had to learn sometime. The difficulty however I had underrated, causing me to arrive late to the cinema.

'Soh, soh, sorry,' I panted when I finally arrived at the theatre.  
'I was almost afraid you had bailed on me,' Matt laughed.  
'I wouldn't..' I started but my voice trailed away when I saw a head full of long copper coloured hair behind the glass doors of the theatre.   
No. fucking. way.  
Unexpectedly he straightened his back and looked around him, bewildered. Then the glass doors opened and closed as a pretty girl walked in.   
As soon as she spotted him she ran towards him and flung herself around his neck as she moved her face close towards his.   
I quickly looked away. I knew what would happen next and I wasn't eager to see it.   
'You okay?' Matt asked me carefully.   
'Couldn't be better,' I lied as I felt my head get hot again.   
'Are you sure? Cause we can always go do something else,' he said hesitantly. I was sure he hadn't seen Aaron inside. I was not going to let this be ruined too.  
'Nope, I'm fine. Just a bit out of breath. Let's go,' I spoke as I marched inside. Matt quickly followed. 

As Matt ordered our tickets I could just see Aaron and the girl walk around the corner. It was a different girl than in the club last time. Was he some kind of player?  
'Okay, here we go!' matt said enthusiastically.


	12. Chapter 12

As we walked into the theatre, I decided to try and not let Aron into my mind. He didn't matter. He was nothing. Just some stupid boy who didn't study. He was no one.

I barely heard what Matt talking to me while we walked to our seats. Two rows in front of Aron. But who cared. 

'Are you okay?' Matt whispered to me softly. I looked at his face. The genuine concern was easily readably in his eyes.  
'I'm fine,' I tried to reassure him, 'it's just that I've been spending all day working on a project for school, and that I'm still kinda in that headspace,'  
'Ah, alright,' Matt nodded understandably.

The lights in the room started to dim and the screen lit up. As the ads and previews played I noticed Matt turning in his seat. Seemingly trying to find a comfortable position to sit in.   
Eventually, he decided on a position, leaning in my general direction, with his hand on the armrest between us.

The movie started, and I focussed with all my might on the screen. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. The movie was good and I forgot all about Aron's presence behind me. 

A sudden jump scare made me yelp and without really thinking about it I grabbed Matt's hand and squeezed it. I quickly looked over at him, but he didn't seem to have even noticed and I quickly let go of him again. There came a sound from a few rows behind me which sounded a lot like a chuckle. 

'So, what did you think?' Matt asked when the end titles showed and everyone started to get up and leave.   
'It was a lot better than I expected,' I admitted.   
'I know right!' he said passionately. 'I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I read the book and most of the time, film adaptations are not that great, but I think they did a great job with this one,'   
I made an affirming noise as I watched a head of long red hair pass our row of chairs. The girl was holding onto his arm as if it was a lifeboat and she was happily chatting away at him. But something seemed off. His body language was... weird. The last time I had seen him with a girl in the club he had been all over her, possessive and teasingly. But this time his body seemed stiff and he didn't make any inclination that he was interested in what it was that she was saying. 

'Would you like to go out to eat?' I asked Matt suddenly, tearing my eyes away from the couple.   
'Sure,' he answered happily as he got up from his chair. 'I've already had dinner, but I'm always in for more,' he smiled.  
'Great, I'm starving,' I said noticing it just now, 'I forgot to have dinner since I was working on the project all day,'  
Matt nodded understanding.

We decided to eat a small take away close to the cinema.  
'If you would rate the movie, what would you give it?' I asked Matt after we ordered.  
'Erm, I think I would give it a 7,5,' Matt said pondering. 'Like, the movie on itself was great and if I hadn't read the book I would probably give it a higher rating,' he shrugged.  
'But you said it was a good adaptation of the book,' I said confused.  
'Yes, it was, but it could've been better you know,'   
'How?' I asked curiously.  
'Well, the writer is known for his page-long descriptions of the surroundings. He always lays a lot of emphasis on nature and its role in this world and I was hoping to see more of that. That's the whole reason I started reading the books in the first place,' he explained.  
'Because of his description of nature? Seems like a weird reason to start reading a book,' I wondered.  
Matt chuckled.  
'Yeah I thought you would think that,'  
'Is that why you started studying biology?' I asked him.  
'Erm, no. No, not really,' Matt said hesitantly. He paused for a few seconds and then continued.  
'I actually didn't want to go to college. But my mom made me. I chose biology because that's the only thing my mom would approve of that actually comes close to what I really want to do,'  
'And what is it you really want to do?' I asked him.  
He smiled a bit awkwardly before looking away to answer my question.  
'Gardening,'  
'Gardening?' I repeated surprised.  
Matt sighed.  
'Yeah, well, it's more than just gardening you know. It's... It's...' he started. His cheeks were slightly pink and he fumbled with his phone.  
'Matt, you can tell me. I'm it's me,' I said reassuring,   
He looked up and deep into my eyes. The dark of his eyes reminded me of the eyes of my father. Truthful and passionate. Familiar. Not like all the bright unfamiliar eyes I saw here.   
'Well, okay,' he gave in. He took a deep breath.  
'It's what keeps me close to my father,' he explained.   
'Aren't you in contact with him any more?' I asked  
'Bit hard, since he's dead,' Matt said.  
'Oh,' I said. I bit my lip. 'I'm so sorry. I didn't know. Lea said that your dad and her mom...' my voice trailed away.  
'Yeah, Lea always makes it seem like our parents simply walked out on us, but that's only because that is what she wishes was the case,'   
I didn't respond. I felt stupid for not knowing. Not asking them about their family. I should've been a better friend.   
'It's okay though, my dad died like ten years ago. I still miss him though, he really was my role model,' Matt continued, making use of my silence. 'He was so cool,' he smiled. 'He knew everything there was to know about any plant. He could tell you their herbal remedies, their Latin names, how to keep them and their function in nature. He always said that nature makes the world go round. Without it, we would be nothing. He respected every plant. Every branch he cut, he did with love. My mother used to say that he loved his garden more than her,' Matt chuckled.   
'He sounds great,' I said softly.   
'He was,' Matt nodded.  
'But why does your mother not want you to be a gardener?  
'Well,' Matt looked away again and I could see a hint of shame in his eyes, 'we used to be quite poor. Gardening doesn't really pay a lot. We always had to make do with very little. My mom was the main income and we always kind of struggled. Honestly, I've never really minded, but she did. When she married Ken, she was so happy that she finally could afford to let me go to college that I didn't want to let her down. She really wants great things for me, but I guess I don't really mind the simple life. I figured I just go, to make her happy, and it's never a bad idea to have a college degree under your belt for a rainy day, you know,'   
I nodded understanding.


	13. Chapter 13

That Sunday, I spend most of my day revising. Now and then I thought of what Matt had told me about his dad. His sincerity and opening up to me had touched me. He, like me, had been pressured into going to college. And he, like me, had just picked something that was the least shitty option. Matt felt familiar to me in a way I could not explain. Maybe it was his dark hair and eyes that reminded me of the boys back home. Or maybe it was his manner of speaking, his gentleness and hesitancy that reminded me of my own father. Matt was the male friend I had always wanted to have. 

But it would be difficult. I knew he liked me. I knew it would be easy to let myself get close to him. But I didn't want that. This was something different. This was pure friendship. And I would do my best not to fall back into my old role and flirt with him. 

When I woke up Monday morning I immediately felt annoyed. For the first few minutes, I didn't realize why, but as soon as I started dressing I noticed something in the corner of my room which triggered my memory. It was Aaron's jacket. That goddamn jacket. I picked it up and angrily stuffed it in my bag. Today I would make another attempt to give the thing back.

In the bus, on my way to school, I kept going over and over what I would say to him. The scene played out differently in my head every time. Every time I spoke with him he was just so unpredictable. Sometimes he would be his same old jackass self but now and then he would have moments in which he was... Nice?

When I finally got off the bus I had no idea what it was that I wanted to say to him anymore. I decided I would just shove his stupid jacket into his arms and run away as fast as I could. At least that way he didn't have to reject it again, and I didn't have to talk to him. I knew it was childish, but I really didn't know what else to do anymore.

I was the first one to arrive in the classroom. I walked to the back, his usual spot and tried to hide myself in the shadows as best as I could.

Slowly the classroom started to fill up with the other students. Nervously I looked at my watch. There where only two minutes left until class would start. 

The teacher came in and closed the door behind him. He was a no show. Again. 

Annoyed and slightly disappointed I started unpacking my stuff as the professor started the lecture.

My last lecture of the day ended early and I decided to go to the library to study. I had just unpacked my laptop when I heard a noise. I looked out of the window. An expensive-looking motorcycle pulled up next to the school. The person on the back removed his helmet. His copper locks fell in a messy bundle down his face. He got off the motorcycle and handed the helmed to the driver. The driver also remover her helmed. This time it was a punk-looking girl with short black hair. They spoke to each other and she laughed. He took a step towards her and took her face into his hands. Even from this distance, it was easy to see her blush. I watched as I waited for him to move forward and kiss her. 

But he didn't. He spoke to her and her expression changed. He let go of her face and turned around, headed toward the school entrance. The girl stood there for a while, looking after him. I squinted my eyes as I tried to see her expression, but it was no use. She was too far away. After a minute or so she put on her helmet again and drove off. It seemed an odd encounter. Very odd...

I shook my head and continued unpacking. With blind eyes, I opened my book and stared at the page. 

'Hey,' a soft voice came from behind me. I started and turned around in my seat so quickly that I almost fell off.   
'Careful now,' Aaron said with a slight smile on his face. 'Is this seat taken?' he asked, pointing at the seat opposite me. Without really waiting for an answer he went to sit down.

'What...' I started, not really knowing where I was going with the sentence. I cleared my throat as he put a hand through his red locks.   
'Why are you here?' I decided to ask.

'Well, we kind of had an appointment didn't we,' Aaron said simply. He stared at me intently and it made me uncomfortable. I shifted nervously in my seat.  
'The project?' Aaron continued to elaborate.   
'HA!' I said unable to help myself. I knew it. He hadn't done any work and he was here to sweet talk me into giving him my work.  
'Glad you can still laugh about the matter. I'm sorry I upset you last time, however, I'm here to make it up to you,'  
'Oh, yea?' I said sarcastically.  
'Yeah,' he said simply, and he bent over to grab something out of his bag. 

'This is my part of the project,' He said as he threw several thick folders on the desk we were sitting at, 'I even did some extra work to make it up to you,'   
Speechless I stared at the folders. "How?" was what I wanted to say, but I managed to swallow the word. He had done the work. But how? And when? But then a red light went off in my head. No one could've done this in so little time. It must either be shit work or plagiarized. 

Slowly and hesitantly I pulled one of the folders towards me. I opened it up on a random page and started reading. The words and sentences seemed legit. He even incorporated some of the things that had been said during the lectures, while I had never seen him make any notes. I opened up my laptop and started typing. I had to be plagiarized. There was no other way.

'Checking to see if I wrote this myself?' Aaron chuckled. I looked up. 'I don't know whether to be flattered or angry with you,' he said with a cheeky side smile.   
I stared at him in disbelief.   
'Don't you worry I put in all the work you wanted me to,' he said reassuringly. 'If you want you can check every singly sentence on plagiarism, but you can also take my word for it and save yourself a lot of time and effort,'  
'Why would I trust you?' I puffed.  
'Why not?'He said raising an eyebrow.  
I laughed an insincere laugh.

'Well, let's see. Your mood swings are giving me whiplash and I don't think any word you have spoken to me so far held any truth,'  
Aaron tilted his head ever so slightly, his hair falling out of his face. He leaned forwards and put his elbows on the table.  
'You want me to speak truthfully?' he whispered, a sly smile playing on his lips, but his light blue eyes narrowed.   
'It would be nice for a change,' I said, ignoring my racing heart.   
He held his position and stared at me intently, as I stared back, unwilling to give in.

'Fine, then,' he whispered and he sat back. 'Ask me anything you want to know,' 

A million questions raced through my mind. Images of all the girls I had seen him with, the way he looked at me the first day of class, his kindness that night I went out. I blinked them away.

'Why didn't you give me this last time we met?' I decided to ask him, gesturing at the stacks of paper in front of me.  
'Because I hadn't started working on it at that point. Besides, I wasn't there for the project,' he answered straight away, without blinking.  
'You hadn't... You...,' I huffed incredulously, 'What do you mean you weren't there for the project?'   
'I was there for you,' he answered simply.  
'What?' With every word I understood less and less. How could he not have started then but have finished so quickly anyway? If he was there for me, then what did that mean? I didn't understand any of it.

Aaron smiled, seemingly reading my thoughts from my face.   
'I acted like an ass, and I was there because of you,' He repeated. 'Because I'm attracted to you,'

My heart felt like it was running a marathon and I felt my cheeks flush.

'I don't think motorcycle girl would like that,' I said, stomping away any feeling. A flash of emotion ran across his face. Guilt? Anger? Sadness? It was gone before I could put my finger on it.  
'Or the blonde girl from the cinema or the model from the club,' I continued ruthlessly.

He was quiet for a few seconds, his face a steel mask without any expression.

'Are you, slut-shaming me?' he asked quietly. My mouth fell open. How on earth did he manage to turn this on me?

'Cause I have you know that this day and age, this thing called "dating" exist, where you don't have to bind yourself to someone without being able to explore your options. Besides, I had already made appointments with them before I realized how I felt about you, and I felt like it would be better to give them a nice time before letting them down easy, instead of cancelling on them without any explanation,'

I didn't know what to say.

'You... I..., 'I started, not knowing where I wanted to go. 'Can you stop bullshitting please for one second?' I said exasperated.

He raised his eyebrow ever so slightly again.   
'I told you I would be truthful with you from now and you still don't believe me?' he said quietly.

I just stared at him angrily. His light eyes stared back at me.

'Fine, don't believe me then. Read it and check it all, see if you find anything wrong with it. I will wait,' he said seriously, pushing the papers towards me.

Reluctantly I pulled them towards me and started reading them from the beginning.

I barely noticed time passing as I read paper after paper. The work was good. Very good.

By the time I looked up I had almost forgotten where I was. It had gotten darker outside. Aaron was still sitting in the exact same position, still looking at me with the same slight frown on his face. I suddenly felt uncomfortable. Had he been looking at me like that all this time?

'Fine,' I said.' Your work is good and I believe you didn't copy it,'   
'Does that mean you also believe my feelings for you?' he asked.   
What kind of person talked this way? Who would admit to such an odd thing so simply?  
I made a face at him and he chuckled.

'Let's work on compiling together this Friday okay? Send me your stuff and I will look over it beforehand,' he said expertly.   
'Sure,' I responded dryly.   
Aaron got up and paused when he stood next to me. I looked up at him. An unusual expression played around his eyes and mouth.  
'I look forward to it,' he said solemnly, before turning around and walking away.


	14. Chapter 14

That night in my bed, I couldn't sleep. Aaron's face kept swimming around in my thoughts, and I kept hearing his low voice repeating the word he had spoken to me earlier that day.

'I wasn't there for the project, I was there for you. Because I'm attracted to you.  
'... before I realized I was attracted to you,'  
'Does that mean you also believe my feelings for you?'  
'I look forwards to it,'

I stomped my pillow. Who talks like that? When had my life turned into some sort of B romcom? Why had he picked me, of all the girls in school, to bother? Was it because I was part Greek?

I remembered what Matt had said about me.  
'Kind of exotic,'   
Exotic my ass.   
Though I had lived most of my life in Greece, I had been living with my mother, who was Scottish. We spoke English at home and my mom made me Scottish dishes and we rarely ever celebrated any kind of Greek holidays.

'Exotic, pfrt,' I said blowing a raspberry into my sheets.  
He was the one who was exotic. With his copper long hair and his light eyes.  
His blue eyes.  
I turned around to lay on my other side.  
His stupid blue eyes. They made me uncomfortable. They were too light. Too bright. An unusual colour.   
His face drifted around in my mind's eye.   
The colour of his eyes seemed off. As if the blueprint for his face had been made with different tones, but they decided to change it at the last second.

I looked at my alarm. It was late. Very late.  
I closed my eyes.  
I felt tired. 

His face.  
Aaron's face.  
His stupid face.  
But I couldn't deny it to myself.   
After all, he was incredibly handsome.

'Good morning,' Lea said cheerily.  
'Morning,' I said with a yawn.  
'Late night?' she asked.  
'Hmm,' I responded vaguely. I didn't want to tell her about how I hadn't been able to sleep because I had been obsessing over Aaron all night.  
'Next time you should try some chamomile tea before bed. I know it sounds stupid, but it really does help. At least, it works for me,' Lea recommended.  
'Thanks, I'll try that next time,' I said, making a mental note of it.

We walked towards the cafeteria to have some brunch together. Matt still had class so it was just the two of us.   
'You want some of my sandwich? It's kind of like my special recipe. It's really good. It has ketchup and bacon and it's basically a cold hamburger but better,' Lea said, breaking her sandwich in half and handing part of it to me.  
'Sure, thanks,' I said before taking a bite. It was very good. I nodded at her to let her know that I liked it, but she wasn't paying attention. Instead, she was staring at something behind me.

'Good morning Xenia,' a voice said behind me. I almost choked in my sandwich. I coughed a few times and Lea handed me her water bottle without looking away from the person standing behind me.

'Good, good morning,' I said to Aaron after turning around to face him. He smiled at me.   
'I was wondering if you had found the time yet to send me your data,' He asked gently.  
'Sorry, I forgot. I'll do it first thing when I get home today,' I said stupidly.   
'Thank you. If I'm not mistaken you already have got my contact information,' He said in a low voice, bending towards me. I nodded awkwardly.   
'Good,' he said, moving even closer to me. He was so close to me now that I could smell his hypnotising scent.   
'Also, you got some ketchup on your chin,' he whispered in my ear. I froze. Aaron straightened his back.  
'Miss,' he said nodding at Lea. He turned, and walked away,' 

It took a few seconds before I could move again and I quickly wiped the ketchup off my chin with the back of my hand. I turned around to face Lea.

'Don't you say a word,' I growled at her. Her face said enough.  
'I wasn't saying anything,' Lea chuckled, holding her hand up defensively. I took an angry bite out of the sandwich she had given to me.

'But if I did say something,' Lea started, I looked at her darkly, 'I would ask you if we still hate the guy,' she continued ruthlessly, 'because that didn't seem like an interaction with someone you dislike,'  
I just looked at her angrily while I chewed my food.  
'I mean, even I have to admit he's handsome,' Lea said and she raised her eyebrows.  
'He's weird,' I barely managed to get the words out through my mouth full.  
'But handsome,' Lea said. It was almost a question. I swallowed my food.  
'He's so weird. His behaviour keeps changing every time I speak to him and he brings a bag to school but doesn't even take notes, but somehow still manages to remember it all,' I said frustrated.  
'So he's smart too,' Lea observed and she put a finger on her chin.  
'Hell no. He's an idiot. Just the other day he...' I paused. Did I really wanted to tell her this? I just wanted to talk about it with someone. Lea raised her eyebrows at me.  
'He what?' she asked curiously.  
'He said he was attracted to me,' I said reluctantly. Lea laughed loudly.  
'Well, I could've told you that too,' Lea said snorting. I looked at her furiously.   
'It's just bull! He's just saying that because...' I started angrily.  
'Because?' Lea asked pretending to be interested.  
'Because... Because... Because he's an ass,' I finished.   
'Boys don't just tell you they like you because they're an ass,' Lea said decisively. 'There's always a reason. Did he do his part of the project yet?'   
'Yes,' I said with gritted teeth.  
'And was it done well?'   
'Yes,' I repeated.  
'Then it can't be because of the project. Does he lack attention?'  
'I doubt it,' I scoffed, thinking about all the different girls I had seen him with.  
'Well, I didn't expect him too, he's much too handsome,' Lea said shaking her head. Suddenly she snapped her fingers. 'Okay how about this: he actually likes you,' She said with a serious face.  
'He doesn't even know me!' I protested.  
'And you don't even know him,' Lea shrugged.  
'I know he's an idiot,' I shrugged.  
'A good looking one,' Lea said before taking a bite of her sandwich. 'Here's what I suggest,' she said with a mouth full, 'how about you give the poor boy a chance, ay? If he really is as stupid as you say I will go back to hatin' on the fucker,'   
I looked away annoyed.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are getting personal!

I was happy that Aaron left me alone for the rest of the week. Now and then we would run into each other and he would smile at me while I looked around nervously. 

Friday came way too quickly. I could feel my heartbeat quicken as I walked to the library. Lea's words had given me an idea and I had come up with a plan. And this time I was quite sure it would work. 

The library was mostly empty, as I had expected and I wasn't surprised to see Aaron was already waiting for me. At least this time he had chosen a normal sized table. When he saw me walk in, he got up. I quickly put up my hand as I felt my phone ringing. 

'Yes, dad?' I said as I put the phone to my ear. I looked away from Aaron.  
'Hey Xen, I was just calling to say I won't make it for dinner tonight,' dad's voice came loudly over the phone.  
'You're yelling dad,' I said back, sure Aaron could hear everything loud and clear as well even though he was a few feet away.  
'Yeah, sorry, it's very noisy in here,' dad boomed. 'Anyway, we're going to watch the game together tonight at work, so I won't be there for dinner. Is that okay?'  
'No worries dad, I'll figure something out,' I told him.  
'Alright then. If there's anything you need you can always call me. I'll keep my phone close. I love you,' dad said loudly.  
'Love you too dad,' I smiled before hanging up.  
I put my phone away and looked at Aaron who was already opening his mouth to say something.

'Stop. Before you say anything, let's just keep this purely business. Only project related stuff, okay?' I said in my most commandeering voice. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly in his usual naughty grin, but then he straightened his face and nodded.  
'Thank you,' I said and I sat down opposite him.  
'Isn't it easier to work together if we sit next to each other?' He suggested. I gave him a sharp look and he put up his hands defensively. 'Alright, sorry,' he said.

'Did you read my part?' I asked him as I opened my laptop.  
'I did,'  
'And?' I asked without looking at him.  
'And it was good. There was a small error in your code on page 15 though,' he said straightforward.   
'What? Where?'   
'Here I'll show you,' he said and he pulled out a printed copy of my work. 'It's right here. It's nothing serious, just that line won't work,' He explained.  
'Do you print everything out on paper?' I couldn't help but ask. He chuckled.  
'Yeah, I guess I'm old fashioned that way,'   
'A computer science student who never carries his laptop and who prints out everything. Are you sure you choose the right major?' I asked. Aaron laughed.   
'Are you trying to distract from the fact that you made an error?' he said jokingly. I rolled my eyes. 

We continued working on the project together. Compiling his and my findings and crossreferencing our code. 

It was easy to talk to him this way. As if we knew each other well and had been friends for a long time. He didn't mind any of my critiques and even made a few simple jokes here and there. For the first time, everything he did and said felt... sincere. Like he was finally showing a real piece of himself. 

'What was that?' Aaron asked with a half-smile. I had hoped he hadn't heard it.   
'My stomach,' I said, feeling my face turn red.  
'You hungry?' Aaron asked. I shrugged without looking at him. 'It's okay if you are, it's already 8:35,' he noted. I looked at my watch. He was right. We had already been working for hours.   
'Let's leave it at this, the library will be closing soon anyway,' Aaron said his voice kind. I nodded and started packing my stuff. 

'Want to grab some dinner?' Aaron asked nonchalantly as I shoved the last of my stuff into my bag.   
'Sure,' I responded without thinking about it. For a second silence fell. Then I looked up horrified. 

I expected his face to radiate that "gotcha" vibe. I expected him to laugh. To tease me, to return to his old self again. But he didn't. Instead, his face was that same kind, soft expression it had been all afternoon.

'Cool, let's go. I know an Italian place nearby, that's quite good,' he said. With dread replacing the hunger in my stomach, I followed him out of the library. 

We walked in silence to the restaurant. As Aaron had promised it was nearby, about a five-minute walk. 

'Ah, Aaron, nice to see you again,' The elderly owner of the shop said when we came walking in.  
'Frank,' Aaron nodded at him.   
Frank let us to our table and pointed out the menu's that were already on it. I quickly took one and hid my face behind it. How did I get here? With him of all people? Why hadn't I thought of something to say. 

'See anything you like?' Aaron asked. I peeked over the menu.  
'Erm,' I said quickly looking at the menu and picking the first thing I could read, 'spaghetti,'   
'Frank, we're ready to order,' Aaron called the owner back.  
I cleared my throat awkwardly.  
'And what is it going to be for the young lady?' Frank asked.  
'Spaghetti,' I said, my voice slightly trembling.  
'And what would you like to drink with that?' the owner asked friendly.  
'Erm, iced tea?' I picked from the top of my head.  
'Sure,' Frank scribbled on his notepad.  
'And for me the usual,' Aaron said. Frank nodded and walked away again.

I looked over at Aaron who sat next to me. In the dimly lit room, it almost seemed like his eyes were glowing. He was staring at me intently.  
'Can you please not do that?' I asked awkwardly looking away.  
'What?' he asked, barely moving.  
'Stare at me like that,' I said, focussing on the ceiling.  
'Then what do you want me to do?' he asked.  
'I don't know, act like a normal human being instead of a creep?' I said slightly annoyed.   
Aaron laughed.  
'Okay, well, a normal person would talk right now and ask you personal questions. But that is going to be hard since you asked me not to talk about anything besides the project,' Aaron said simply.   
'Fine, ask me a question,' I sighed.

'Why do you dislike me?' Aaron asked. His question took me by surprise and I looked up. He had bend forwards and his face was much closer to mine than I had expected. 'You said my mood swings are giving you whiplash but your temper is ever-changing. Since the moment I told you I would be truthful with you, I have done nothing else. I have been honest, sincere, and shown you more of myself than I have any other human being. But still, your emotions are flying left and right. Did we not just spend an afternoon together where we saw perfectly eye to eye? It was effortless. But still, you distrust me, still, you reject my friendliness and sincerity. What am I doing wrong?' He asked almost pleading.

In shock and unable to move, I stared at him. His eyes glittered in the darkness. A light frown between his eyebrows. He was so close now that I could count his eyelashes. His lips were slightly parted as he stared into my eyes.


	16. Chapter 16

'I'm sorry,' I muttered, my heart beating in my chest. His face relaxed and he sat back, rubbing his nose.  
'No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have fallen out at you like that. It's just... I'm trying to understand you. You're such an enigma to me,' he said, without looking at me.

'I'm sorry,' I repeated, unsure of what else to say. Aaron shook his head. 'No, you're right. I have been acting kind of unfair towards you today. It's just... That playboy act you give sometimes... It's kind of like an allergic reaction I have towards that. In Greece, I have known so many boys like that, and they always said they would change and then they didn't,' I said in a hushed voice. 

'And you don't think I have changed,' Aaron said with his eyes closed. It was more a statement than a question.  
'I... don't know. I know you say a lot of stuff I don't believe,' I said truthfully.  
'And this afternoon, the way we worked on the project together, did you believe me then?' Aaron asked me. I nodded slowly.   
'Alright, let's forget everything then,' He said as if he had suddenly gotten an epiphany. He put his hand through his hair and breathed in and out slowly. 'Hi, my name is Aaron Smith,' he said suddenly. I looked at him hesitantly.   
'Xenia Tenzerakis,' I said slowly. He smiled at me.  
'Nice to meet you, Xenia,' Aaron said. 

'Spaghetti for madame,' Frank said as he put the plate in front of me. It smelled delicious. I thanked him.   
I waited as he walked away.  
'You don't have to wait for me,' Aaron said as he leaned back in his chair.   
'I'm sure it will be out soon,' I said, looking around me. There were only a few people and they had already finished their food.  
'I... don't eat here,' Aaron admitted. I raised my eyebrows.  
'You bring me here to eat but you don't eat here?' I said suspiciously eyeing my spaghetti.   
'Don't worry. It will taste great and it won't make you sick. It's just... I'm on what you would call a special diet,' Aaron said.   
'Please don't tell me you're vegan,' I said as I slowly pulled the plate towards me. Aaron laughed loudly.  
'Don't worry. It's far from that,' he chuckled.   
'I get people who are vegan are trying to do good, you know. I think it's admirable. But do they really have to brag about it in every conversation?' I said annoyed, poking one of my meatballs.  
'Two things you don't like, playboys and vegans,' Aaron noted.   
'If I were to tell you all the things in this world that I do not like, it'll be a long night,' I said before taking a bite of my food. It tasted great. 

'Then, what do you like?' Aaron asked, seemingly intrigued. I shrugged.  
'Cats?' I decided. Aaron grinned. 'What about you? Cats or dogs?' I asked casually.'  
'Hmm,' Aaron made a sound. I raised my eyebrows. 'Well, erm, I'm not particularly... good with pets, or animals for that matter,' he said hesitantly.  
'Overfed you goldfish as a child?' I asked, taking another bite.   
'No,' Aaron grinned again, 'No, it's just, they don't really like me,'   
'They have good instinct,' I joked with a mouth half full, looking at my plate. Aaron didn't laugh.

'Why did you come to Edinburgh?' he asked suddenly. His tone almost seemed accusing. I raised an eyebrow.  
'To study,' I answer.  
'But why here? Of all places, you could've gone, why here?' Aaron asked. He leaned forwards, letting his elbows support him.  
'Well,' I started, swallowing the last piece of food in my mouth, 'my dad lives and works here, and it would be easiest if I could stay with him instead of renting a room,'  
'But why here? Why not in Greece?' Aaron pushed on.  
'Cause my mom wanted me to study abroad. She claims it looks better on paper. I guess she's right but I would've preferred to stay in Greece, to be honest,'  
'So you didn't want to come here at all?' Aaron asked, frowning.  
'Well, don't get me wrong, I'm happy to spend some more time with my dad. But if it had been up to me I wouldn't have studied at all,' I shrugged.  
'But if you don't care about your education, why work so hard?'   
'I've never been someone to go at something half-assed. Also, my mom said she would pay for everything if I graduate with good grades, so there's that,'   
'Why computer sciences?' he asked me curiously.  
'Because it's the only thing I'm okay at, which I don't hate, which has a good employment rate and of which my mother would approve,' I admitted.  
'And after?'   
'After what?'  
'After graduation, what then?' Aaron asked.

'I... don't know. Some people map out there entire lives, but I've never really done that. I've always kinda gone where the wind took me, you know. I would've been fine working at the coffee shop where I was working before I came here. And I would've just,' I flapped my hand awkwardly, 'you know, see where life took me. But now,' I shrugged. 'My mom probably thinks she has finally given my life some direction, but truthfully, I don't feel that way,'  
'Then what is it you wanna get out of life?' Aaron asked me in a quiet voice.  
'I don't know. Adventure?' I said feeling a bit stupid. 'Maybe it sounds ridiculous, but I just mean, I want to live, you know. Like really live. Not to be a slave to work or society. I want to be free,' I decided. I felt my cheeks flush as Aaron looked at me intently. I quickly looked down at my plate and started eating again.

We sat there in silence as I ate. It felt uncomfortable to sit there, as he watched me. 

'What are you thinking of?' I had to ask. My plate was almost empty, but I felt full enough. Aaron hesitated for a second.  
'I'm thinking... that you are not what I thought you were, and that I might have made a mistake in opening up to you,' he said slowly. I frowned. What was that supposed to mean?  
'I've just told you basically my life's story and you think it was a mistake opening up to me?' I said annoyed.   
'Was it good?' a voice said behind me. Frank had come to take away my plate.  
'Yes, very. Thank you,' I said politely.  
'Dessert?' he asked smiling. I shook my head.  
'No thank you, I'm full,' I said.  
'Anything else? Tea, coffee?' he suggested. I shook my head again.  
'The check would be fine, thank you,' I said. Frank smiled and walked away.

Aaron bent over close to me. His unusual eyes caught mine.   
'I have a very complicated... existence,' He said slowly and so soft that I could barely hear him. His eyes were narrowed and he looked at me intensely. 

'Your bill,' Frank said. I tore my gaze from Aaron and looked up. The old owner had his hand stretched out with a small folder in it. Just as I reached out to take it from him, Aaron did the same, and our hands bumped into each other mid-air. A few of my neck hairs stood up. His hand was ice-cold. I instinctively pulled my hand back. A memory flashed before my eyes. It was the night at the Apocolypse where I had been sick. He had helped me. Caught me whenever I tripped or stumbled. And every time he had touched me, even though accidental, it had felt like ice upon my skin. 

'I'll pay,' Aaron said, and he handed a small amount of cash to the old owner before I could say something.


	17. Chapter 17

'Can I give you a ride home?' Aaron asked as we got up.  
'I'd rather take the bus,' I said, avoiding his eyes.  
'Then, can I walk you to the nearest bus stop?'   
I shrugged. 

Silently we walked together to the nearest bus stop. 

'I just don't want to drag you down with me' Aaron said quietly when we arrived at the bus stop, picking up our conversation where we left it. I turned around to face him  
'But all those other girls are okay?' I said, not knowing where te response came from.  
Aaron took a step closer.   
'They're not like you. I don't care for them,' He said.  
'Then why date them?' I asked coldly.  
'It was never really dating,' he tried to defend himself. I raised my eyebrows at him. 'They never knew me as you do,'  
'I don't know anything about you,' I said cold.

A gush of wind from behind me blew my hair into my face. I blinked as my locks pricked my eyes. When I opened them again, Aaron was only a few inches away from me.  
'Please, give me the time,' He whispered. I could feel his breath on my face. My heart pounded loudly and I felt my cheeks flush. Stubbornly I forced myself to look up into his eyes.   
'I thought you said it was a mistake?' my voice sounded distant. Aarons's eyes narrowed. His face had the unmistakable expression of thought and pain. He had stopped trying to hide his true face from me.   
'You..' he started. He panted slightly and his eyes scanned every inch of my face. 'I'm...' he started again. 

A beam of light lit up his face for a second and his eyes seemed to glow. He quickly looked away from me and took a few steps back as the bus parked right next to us.   
The doors opened. My head buzzed as I walked towards my ride.   
'Can I see you tomorrow?' Aaron's voice called out from behind me.  
'No,' I said instinctively. I looked over my shoulder at him. 'I'll be busy,' I couldn't see his face clearly from this distance. I got on the bus and checked in. Something tugged at me in the back of my mind.  
'But I'll be free on Wednesday,' I heard myself say. The doors closed and I took a seat.

When I got home my heart was still pounding.   
'Xen,' my dad's voice came from the living room.  
'I thought you wouldn't be home yet,' I tried to say casually as I walked into the living room. My dad was watching tv.  
'The game ended early,' he explained.  
'Did you win?' I asked uninterestedly.  
'Nope,' he sighed. He looked up at me. 'What's wrong, kóri?' he asked.   
'Nothing,' I lied, trying to straighten my face.  
'Is it a boy?' he asked.  
'How did you...' I started. Dad chuckled.  
'You are so much like your mitéra,' dad laughed, 'she had the same expression on her face every time I annoyed her. Tell me,' he said as he patted the couch to indicate to come to sit next to him.  
'English people are just so annoying!' I said exasperated. I didn't want to imply Aaron in specific, as it would raise even more questions. 'They say one thing and they do the other. They're always so cryptic and never direct. They're just so weird. So different,'   
Dad frowned.  
'You know, when I first got here I had to get used to this way of living too. Our cultures are not too different but still different enough. Give it time, be patient. You will understand them eventually. And don't be scared to just ask. It might create some awkward encounters but at least you will understand better,'  
'Thanks, dad' I said grumpily.   
'But I do hope Lea and Matt are being nice to you?' dad asked.  
'They are, I said quickly. It's just, I have to work on a group project and it's not going well,' I said vaguely,'  
'Ah so that's why you are home so late?' dad questioned. 

'We... we also had dinner,' I admitted.  
'That's very nice of them, right. Or wasn't it good?' Dad inquired.   
I shrugged.   
I thought of Aarons's face. Somewhere deep down, I knew I something else was going on. A feeling that I didn't want to admit to, but which I wouldn't be able to keep hiding.

'Can we please just watch tv?' I asked not wanting to think anymore.  
'Sure, the news is just starting,' Dad said as the intro theme of the news started playing. 

'Good evening, my name is Olivia Wilson, and this is today's news,' the newsreader spoke. 'Another gruesome murder on a family of four in Milton Keynes has shaken the police. All the victims had the same injuries, just like the murder in Luton last week. Detectives are currently trying to find out whether there is a connection between the two cases. Not much is known about the situation yet, but there are rumours that just like the murder in Luton, the crime scene has been scrubbed clean of any an all evidence,' 

'So, how was your date?' Lea asked that Saturday. I rolled my eyes at her and she grinned. She had asked me out for tea at a new nearby coffee shop, which was, according to her, totally cool. It was packed withyoung people who were loudly conversing about their own problems. 

'It was...' I tried to respond but the right words didn't come to mind. I took a sip of my tea to think as Lea stared at me intently.   
'When we were working on the project together it was so easy. As if we have been friends for quite a while. He made jokes, but most of the time he was quite serious. He took me seriously,' I said.

'But no spark?' Lea asked as she warmed her hands around her coffee. I didn't say anything but took another sip of my tea. I thought of every time Aaron had been close to me. Every time he looked at me with that insense look in his eyes. In my memory, I saw how we had stood there at the bus station. His face had been so near me. If I had gotten onto my toes I could've...

'Well, it's so hard to say, isn't it? I barely even know him. I don't even get why he said he likes me in the first place. He doesn't even know me,' I said a bit defensively. Lea pursed her lips.

'I guess he's like me. I'm one of those people who can look at someone and instantly fall in love. When I met Mirra, it was love on first sight too for me. I just knew I would like everything about her. It felt as if she was a magnet and I was just instantly drawn to her or something. But she's different. She's more like you. She really has to get to know a person before she can fall in love with them. I guess to everyone their own way,' Lea shrugged. 

'It's not that I don't like him, it's just that I don't like like him,' I said reluctantly. 'I mean of course I think he is handsome, we've established that before. But it just feels... weird? I don't know. I didn't come here to dive into another relationship, I came here to study,' I said and I looked out the window.

'You also didn't come here to make friends, but you did anyway. And you're not getting rid of us that easily. And who said anything about a relationship? Why not just be lovers,' Lea said while making a cheeky face uring the word "lovers". 

I frowned at her.

'What? You're not a virgin anymore, there's nothing to hold back. You've been alone for a while and you haven't even dated in a while. It's the 21st century, you don't have to be married to get laid anymore, you know,' Lea said.  
'You sound like him,' I chuckled.  
'Well, it's true!' Lea said almost exasperated. 'You know, I always say, screw around with them first before falling in love. What if you fall in love and they're a disaster in the bedroom, or worse,' she said and she held up her pinky finger and wiggled it. I couldn't help but laugh.  
'But you were the one who fell in love with Mirra instantaneously, weren't you?' I observed.   
'This isn't about me, it's about you,' Lea said sternly.

'I don't know. Imagine if I were to fool around with him and it would be a disaster? How'll we ever finish the project?' I said worriedly. Lea rolled her eyes at me.  
'For someone who didn't want to go to Edinburgh college in the first place, you're quite serious about your education,'  
'You know I can't not do my best and you know my mom pays for it if I graduate well,' I disputed. Lea clacked her tongue.  
'Anyway, I would like to know at least their birthday or something before I dive into bed with anyone. Preferably a little more than that. Like maybe someone who could vouch for him, just so that I'm can be sure he's not a serial killer,' I said remembering last night's news.  
'Good luck with that,' Lea said. 'Nowadays you never know. I mean, look at Ted Bundy, he seemed like a nice enough guy, and I'm sure enough people would vouch for him,'  
'Not helping,' I said rubbing my forehead.

'I'm just saying, if you want the entire background on someone, you should become a private investigator instead, or you can never date anyone else. Just... live a little,' Lea said.


	18. Chapter 18

'Why are you so involved in this anyway?' I asked defensively. Lea suddenly looked very interested in her coffee.  
'Lea?' I asked suspiciously.  
'I'm just trying to be a good friend,' she said casually, but I knew something was up.  
'Lea,' I repeated. She hesitated.  
'Okay, fine. Mirra got in some trouble at work at the hospital and Aaron helped her out and,' Lea started but I cut her off.  
'Mirra? What happened?' I asked shocked.  
'Oh, you know, standard issue. Some kind of homophobic twat saw me kissing Mirra goodbye at the hospital and decided to wait for until she got off her shift. He threatened her and bla bla bla,' Lea said, waving her hand like it was nothing, 'But then Aaron showed up out of nowhere and told the guy off. Mirra said she still doesn't quite understand how he did it, but whatever,' Lea shrugged.

I looked at her silently for a while. I believed Lea's story, but something was off. 

'So you wanted to pay him back for helping out Mirra by encouraging me to date him?' I asked slowly.  
'Well, if you put it that way it sounds kinda...' Lea said, still not looking me in the face.  
'No,' I cut her off.  
'What no?'  
'No, I don't believe you. This is not why you have been so supportive lately. So... pushy almost,' I said suspiciously.  
Lea took a long slow sip from her coffee and sighed.  
'Fine. Your dad is worried about you. I overheard uncle Anton talking with my dad some time ago. He said you seemed down, agitated, annoyed and restless. He was really upset about it, you know. Your father was so happy when you first came here but now he's seriously considered calling your mom to try and work out a deal so you can go back home,' Lea said. She finally looked up at me. Her eyes were a clear display of concern and anxiety. 

So that was what was going on.  
All this time I had thought that I had hidden my frustration well away from my father. But he had read me like a book. As he had always had.  
And now he was considering to send me back to Greece. Just because I got pissed off by some stupid project and some stupid boy.  
That's why Lea had flipped her opinion on Mr Copperhead so quickly. His selfless act of protecting Mirra had given Lea enough to say he was okay and setting me up with him, would in her eyes possibly make me happy, or at least less frustrated. And what she had encapsulated as her worry for my father was really her selfless desire for me not to leave.

'Ah,' I said. We were both silent. It was hard for me to look at her anxious face so I quickly drank the last of my tea.  
'It is nice of him to help Mirra out. I mean he didn't have to. I think most people wouldn't. And it's often not easy to get homophobes to leave...' I said softly. 'Maybe I should give him a shot. I mean he keeps telling me that he likes me...' I continued as casually as I could. I looked up carefully to see Lea's smug face.  
'Oh shut up,' I laughed. She laughed with me. 

As I walked over to the bar to pay the bill, I noticed a girl with short black hair sitting nearby. It was the girl from the motorcycle that I had seen drop of Aaron at school. She was talking to her friend who was sitting across from her and I could just make out what they were saying.  
'...And then he said he thought I was cute but that he had fallen for someone else!' she said angrily.  
'OMG. He really said that?' her friend reacted disgusted.  
'Well, not with those exact words but it was implied, you know,' the motorcycle girl responded.  
'Girl, I told you he was bad news from the start. I knew he wouldn't stick around,' the friend said.  
'But he was always so sweet you know,' motorcycle girl said. Her friend made a noise.  
'I'm still going to keep my appointment at the clinic though,' motorcycle girl continued.  
'What? Why? Now that he's gone, you don't have to keep those kinds of promises anymore,' her friend said incredulously.  
'Yeah, I know. But I always wanted to do some good in this world. And you know I don't have a lot of money, but giving blood is a way to help people. Just by giving blood now and then I could save lives and,'

'Your receipt,' the cashier said, interrupting the conversation I was listening in on.

It was a cold Monday morning and I was sitting in the bus reading the newspaper on my phone. There had been another mass murder in Northampton just like the one I had seen on tv with my father last Friday. I looked away from my phone out of the window, wondering why someone would do such a thing. 

When the bus arrived at school a familiar face greeted me.   
'Goodmorning,' Aaron said friendly as I walked up to him.  
'Goodmorning,' I replied, trying very hard to keep my voice steady.   
'How was your weekend?' he asked politely.  
'Fine,' I said, pausing, and then; 'Yours?'   
Aaron looked at me for a second with an odd sad smile.  
'Too long,' he sighed. I felt my cheeks flush and quickly cleared my throat.  
'Shall we... go inside?' I said gesturing vaguely at the school entrance. Aaron nodded silently and I quickly started walking. 

We got seated in our usual spots at the back of the classroom. It was still early and there were only a few students there yet.   
'Why don't you ever bring your stuff?' I asked annoyed as I unpacked my bag and noticed him simply staring at me. A cheeky smile appeared on his face.   
'If it makes you feel uncomfortable, I promise you I will bring my laptop with me next time,' he said. I sighed and rolled my eyes at him.   
'It's not about me, it's about you. Why don't you bring your stuff?' I repeated. Aaron's face hardened and he looked at me scrutinizingly.   
'I... don't need it,' He started. I stared at him with narrowed eyes. 'I have a perfect memory,' he decided when I didn't say anything.   
'Hmm. Like photographic?' I asked.  
'Yeah, kinda,' he answered vaguely.   
'Hmm,' I hummed again. The classroom was now almost completely filled up.  
'If you don't trust me, you can read my files again,' Aaron laughed.  
'Is that how you finished your part of the project so quickly?' I couldn't help but ask.   
Aaron hesitated again for a second. 'That... was one of the factors, yes.' 

The professor walked in and Aaron bent over close to me. I couldn't help but think how good he smelled as I breathed in slowly. My heart pounded.   
'About Wednesday, what time can we meet?' he whispered. Professor Anzani started talking but I could barely hear him. In a flashback, I saw myself standing in the bus again. Telling Aaron I would be free on Wednesday. I had almost forgotten.   
'Erm,' I started. His eyes were so incredibly blue, unusually blue. 'Erm, around one?' I stammered. I quickly looked away.  
'Where do you want to meet?' Aaron's voice tickled the hairs in my neck.  
'The... school library?' I said hesitantly, still without looking at him. He did not respond to this but I took that as an "okay".


	19. Chapter 19

I was half running to the library. Since it was Wednesday and my day off, I had not set my alarm this morning. Somehow I had managed to sleep to 11:30 and I was now hurrying to my appointment with Aaron. 

He was standing next to the library entrance, casually leaning against the wall. His long red hair framed his face and he was staring at the ground. Over his shoulder hung a black large filled backpack, perfectly matching his black clothes and boots.

He looked up as soon as he heard my running footsteps and his face turned into a wide smile.   
'I was wondering whether you would still turn up,' Aaron said.  
'I'm not that late am I?' I said looking at my watch.  
'True, but I can never know with you,' Aaron shrugged. I ignored his statement.  
'Let's go inside then. I've already been compiling most of your data with mine and I think,' I started but Aaron interrupted me.  
'We're not going into the library,' He said simply. I looked up at him confused.   
'Then what...' I started but he cut me off again.  
'When I asked you when I could see you again, do you really think I was inquiring about our next study meeting?' He grinned at me. I did not reply but just stared at him. 'I was asking you on a date,' He said raising his eyebrows ever so slightly.   
'Oh,' it was all I could say.   
Date?   
My heavy backpack complete with all printed files and my laptop suddenly felt much heavier. The plain black jeans and red sweater I was wearing suddenly felt ugly and boring.  
'But the project...' I started not finishing my sentence.  
'We still have more than enough time to work on it. If you want we can spend the entire Friday on it. Okay?' Aaron said nicely. 

A million thoughts started cooking up in my head. I wanted to scream at him for coaxing me here under false pretenses. I wanted to insist on working on the project. I wanted to roll my eyes at him for taking me out. 

But then I thought about what Lea and Dad had said. Why not give him a chance? Why was I so desperate to keep him at arm's length. Why did everything he said or did fascinate and bother me so much at the same time? So much so that it affected my mood in such a manner that my father had started to worry about me. 

Suddenly I heard my mother's voice in my head: "Boys, they're nothing but a distraction. Just you focus on your career sweetie."   
I had done everything my mother asked of me. I was working hard. I was being serious. But why not have a little fun too, as Lea suggested.   
How dangerous would it be to just, for once, let go a little bit and let Aaron take me on a date? 

I breathed out and let the tension in my body drop.   
'Okay,' I sighed and I looked up at him. His face had a hint of surprise in it, but he quickly recuperated.   
'Great, just follow me then,' Aaron said with a side smile and he started walking. 

The question of where we were going and what we would do popped up in my mind but I balled my fist to repress it and continued to follow Aaron in silence.

Aaron led me out of the school and towards the park that was next to it.   
'Here we are,' He said casually as he gestured to a patch of grass between the trees. I looked at him quizically.   
'I didn't want to take you too far away. I didn't think you would approve,' He said with a cheeky smile. He put down his backpack and took out a large soft-looking blanket which he placed meticulously on the ground.  
'Please, sit,' He said waving at the blanket he put down. Still, in silence, I took off my backpack too and sat down on the blanket. It was indeed, as I had suspected, very soft and I couldn't help but stroke it slightly. Aaron went to sit opposite me.  
'Honestly, I didn't expect you to agree to this,' he said quietly. I looked up at him. His face seemed... worried? I wasn't sure.   
I sighed deeply and looked away again. 

'Ever since I came here I've been... quite uptight,' I said hesitantly. I expected a joke or some silly answer, but nothing came.   
'I don't know why, but coming here, changed me. When I lived in Greece I was not like this at all. I am not like this at all. It's just... All the people here are so different. So... organized and... well thought out. And the studying... And even my dad seems different,' I tried to explain.

'And you feel trapped?' Aaron asked.  
'Yes. No. Not really. Like I told you before I came here of my own free will and all, but it's just so different here,'   
'Different how?'   
'I don't know. Just different. Like I said, uptight or something. I feel like I'm turning into my mom. I now understand why she is the way she is,' I said.

'If you're unhappy here, you can always go back,' Aaron said softly. I looked up at him. His eyes seemed concerned.   
'I don't want to go back,' I said resolutely.   
'Why not?'  
'Because going back doesn't mean anything. What would I be going back to? My pushy and disappointed mom? My job at the coffee shop?' I said  
'But I thought you said you enjoyed that job?' Aaron asked.  
'I do. I did. But I can get such a job here as well. Honestly, I've not left much behind. I don't even miss my old friends,' I said shrugging. 

'Then, what is it?' Aaron tried again.  
'I don't know,' I shook my head. 'I guess I just have to settle down or unwind or something,'   
'Hmm, I might be able to help you a little with that,' Aaron said. He reached for his bag and started to pull out small plastic containers.   
He placed the containers between us and started opening them up one at a time. They all contained different kinds of foods. Some had fruits others had sweets and chocolates and cookies.   
'Please, eat,' He smiled at me.   
So this was a picnic date.

I decided to take a cookie and noticed that he didn't make any effort to get himself anything.  
'Not eating again?' I asked with a mouth full of cookies. It tasted great.  
Aaron's smile seemed more like a grimace.  
'No. Special diet, remember?' He said forcedly.  
'Hmm,' I said. I quickly looked him up and down. He didn't look unhealthy.

'But enough about me. I gave away so much of myself already and I know nothing about you except your first and last name. And your diet,' I said. Somehow I felt myself letting go. I felt how the carelessness and the playfulness return to my system. Was it me or the cookie? Or him?

Aaron looked away with a side smile on his face not saying anything.   
'Come on. Remember what you promised me? No secrets, only truth,' I reminded him as I clapped the crumbs of my hands. Aaron frowned and didn't look at me.   
'What are your parents like?' I tried to ask casually as I picked up a plaque of chocolate.   
'They're dead,' he said shortly, still not looking at me. I almost choked on my chocolate.   
'I'm... so sorry,' I coughed.  
'It's fine. It was a very long time ago,' Aaron said.  
'Any... siblings?' I tried. Aaron's frown deepened and I saw his jaw clench slightly.  
'Also dead,' He said in such a way that I knew he definitely didn't want to talk about it.   
'I'm so so sorry,' I whispered. Aaron shook his head.

We were silent for a while as I ate some of the food he had brought.

'Do you like it?' Aaron said suddenly.   
'Hmm?' I asked.  
'The food I mean,' he explained.  
'Oh, yeah, it's great, thanks,' I said.  
'Good. I made everything myself,' Aaron smiled.   
'So, you don't eat but you do cook?' I asked him.  
'Well, you couldn't really call this cooking. More baking and preparing,' Aaron laughed. I rolled my eyes at him. I was happy that he had lightened the mood a little.  
'So, erm, what's your favorite movie?' He asked suddenly.   
'Dear God, where to begin? I mean I love The Lord of the Rings. And whenever I feel like shit or when I'm sick I put on Pride and Prejudice the 2005 film. Not the 1995 series,' I said. Aaron laughed.  
'That's quite specific,' He said.  
'Yeah, I guess you could say I'm a bit of a movie fanatic,' I shrugged. 'Yours?' I asked.  
Aaron clicked his tongue.  
'I don't think I have any. No really,' He said as he saw me frown at him, 'It's just, I prefer to read you see. It's far more immersive than all those flashing images on a screen,' 

'I wish I read more, but I never seem to find the time for it,' I said honestly. Aaron chuckled.  
'What's your favorite book then?' I asked curiously. Aaron frowned for a second, thinking.  
'Hmm. Hard to say. I've read so much over the years and I've enjoyed many books. I don't think I really have a favorite,'  
'Oh come on. Just say the first title that pops into your head,' I encouraged him.  
'David Copperfield,' He said decidedly.   
'Alright. I've never read it but I've seen several different tv adaptations,' I started and I noticed Aaron look away again, frowning deeply and his jaw clenched again, ' but I guess those are quite different than reading the real thing.' I said quickly.  
'Hmm,' Aaron said vaguely.

'So why are you studying computer sciences?' I quickly asked Aaron to change the subject. It took a while before Aaron acknowledged my question. He was still looking away from me when he answered.  
'Because... I am quite knowledgeable already with many a subject except for modern technology,'   
'Wow. You really don't think too highly of yourself now do you?' I joked. Aaron looked up and his half-smile had returned again although his bright blue eyes had not still recovered from his deep thoughts from before.   
'So what you wanna do with it?' I asked as I shoved a piece of pineapple into my mouth. Aaron looked at me intently.  
'You do like asking difficult and dangerous questions don't you?' he said almost accusing me.   
'What? I'm just asking you what you wanna do with your study. How is that difficult or dangerous?' I said defensively.  
Aaron stared at me which made me very self-conscious about the way I was chewing.   
'There is a company, to whom I have ties, which are in want of people with knowledge of modern-day technology,' Aaron said very slowly. I couldn't help but notice his second time use of the words modern technology. How strange.   
'So you basically have a job lined up for you after this?' I said ignoring his seemingly careful choice of words.  
'You could see it like that, yes,' Aaron decided. 

'Why are you always being so cryptic?' I couldn't help but ask.   
'Because you demanded honest answers,' Aaron said simply as if that would explain it all.  
'And you can't be honest without being so vague?' I said with slight irritation.  
'There are things about me that are... hard to explain. Hard to understand. I don't want to burden you with them,' he said carefully.  
'You can't decide what information will be a burden to me. That's for me to decide. You say you like me and you want to be truthful with me, and I'm really trying hard to make a connection with you but you keep giving me half-answers,' I blurted.


End file.
